Will this be the year Toronto breaks its curse? Or will it end in frustration again?
Auston Matthews scored 60 goals in one season and has had at least 40 in five. That makes him the most prolific scorer in Maple Leafs history.
There is one thing the 25-year-old centre has yet to accomplish. In his six cracks at the postseason, Toronto has yet to win a series.
“Of course that motivates you but we can only focus on the preparation we put into this,” Matthews said Sunday after a full team practice at the Ford Performance Centre. He gets another chance as of Tuesday, when a first-round matchup with the Lightning commences at Scotiabank Arena. “Everybody here knows what we want to accomplish but we have to take it day by day. We can’t get ahead of ourselves.”
The Maple Leafs and the Bruins share the longest active streaks for teams to make the NHL playoffs at seven years, so yes, the locals have actually been quite successful. But Toronto hasn’t won in the playoffs since 2004 – the longest drought for any team in the league.
Some of that can be chalked up to bad luck, some has to do with coming up against mostly brutal opponents and some of it has to do with under performance.
So here we are again. Tampa Bay ousted the Maple Leafs a year ago, has won two of the past three Stanley Cups and has reached the finals in each of those three years.
It’s Groundhog Day.
“Everyone is excited about the challenge at hand,” Matthews said. Is he nervous? “There is always going to be excitement leading up to it.”
Toronto was the better of the two teams throughout the regular season and went 2-0-1 against the Lightning. Of course that doesn’t matter much now, other than maybe giving the Maple Leafs a slight boost in confidence.
It is a mental battle as well as a physical one, especially when one’s season ends abruptly time and again.
“We know what’s happened,” winger Mitch Marner said. “We have to stay in the here and now.”
Toronto has experienced a peculiar six months of hockey. It started poorly, was plagued with injuries, especially on defence, shook up its roster at the trade deadline and somehow came out of it stronger.
“I think we grew from it,” coach Sheldon Keefe said. “The great thing about [a long season] is that you have been through so much together. All the things you go through along the way makes it extra special.”
Matthews, Marner, William Nylander and John Tavares have all played well, and have all suffered in the postseason together. Ryan O’Reilly and Luke Schenn – both Stanley Cup champions – have been added to the mix.
Most likely the outcome will come down to subtle adjustments, matchups and goaltending. (It almost always does.)
Ilya Samsonov has had a stellar first season in the Maple Leafs’ net. That will have to continue against Tampa Bay, which is backstopped by Andrei Vasilevskiy. In the postseason, he is where pucks go to die.
“I know everybody’s waiting for results with us,” Samsonov said. “Everybody wants to win the Stanley Cup. At the end of the day, there are a lot of good teams. And us, too. I think we’re an elite team.”
Samsonov, who was given up on last year by the Washington Capitals, has not been party to Toronto’s postseason misery. Yet.
Matthew Knies, the fresh-faced forward straight out of the University of Minnesota, practised with the full team for just the first time. He was not in the regular rotation, although he did his part in three road games. He hasn’t even seen the ice yet at Scotiabank Arena.
“I’m just going to try to contribute the best that I can wherever I can,” Knies said.
He has been staying with John Tavares and his family, living in their basement.
“I didn’t want to stay in a hotel,” Knies said. “I am happy he opened up to me.”
The playoffs loom. Will this be the year Toronto breaks its curse? Or will it end in frustration again? We will know soon.
“We went through our fair share of adversity, especially early on,” Matthews said. “There were a lot of ups and downs, a lot of stuff to learn from and I think the group did.”
Matthews finished with 40 goals and 85 points in 74 games. He has dealt with his own health issues but seems ready now.
“The last month or so is the best I have felt all year,” Matthews said.
There is excitement in the air.
“Auston found another gear down the stretch and is really excited to have an opportunity to start a new season now,” Keefe said. “Collectively we have worked so hard to put ourselves in the spot we are.
“We feel our game is in a good place.”