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Edmonton Oilers' Knoblauch makes all the right moves to shred Vancouver Canucks but now comes deadly Dallas Stars
Championship teams have a ruthless efficiency to them, a machine-like process that dissects and dismantles the opposition. The Edmonton Oilers aren’t quite there yet. But they displayed some of that necessary coherence and organization in coming from behind to beat the Vancouver Canucks in the final two games of the Pacific Division finals. Coach Kris Knoblauch and his team made all the right moves against Vancouver. But now the Edmonton Oilers face their biggest challenge, the NHL’s best regular season team, the Dallas Stars. Deadly Dallas is fresh off wins over the past two Stanley Cup champions, the Vegas Golden Knights and the Colorado Avalanche. The Stars have all the look of a powerhouse Stanley Cup winner. Dallas is the best defensive team left in the playoffs, allowing just 2.38 goals per game, compared to Florida, 2.45, New York, 2.6, and Edmonton, 2.75. Dallas accomplished this by being the master of the new intense and disciplined NHL defensive game. This style sees the best teams defend in their own zone with two different approaches. Top teams attack relentlessly and aggressively along the perimeter to kill off penalties, but at even strength they collapse into a Spartan-like phalanx in front of their own net, parking-the-bus with all five players tightly defending the slot so that star opposition attackers, like Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, can’t penetrate and launch Grade A and even more dangerous 5-alarm shots in tight. Los Angeles failed to employ either strategy against Edmonton, while Vancouver was generally sound at the even strength phalanx but too often failed on the penalty kill. The Canucks were too passive on the penalty kill, especially at the start the series. As for the Oilers, they have been the masters of the NHL’s defensive game on the penalty kill in the playoffs and are greatly improved under Knoblauch’s watch at even strength. Goaltending has been an issue, but it’s one of the many problems that Knoblauch helped solved against Vancouver with a series of sharp tactical and line-up moves. What have been his Knoblauch’s main changes? 1. Promoting performing forwards and demoting struggling ones. When Edmonton opened up against Los Angeles, Corey Perry and Evander Kane were on the third line, Dylan Holloway was on the fouth line and Derek Ryan and Connor Brown were in the pressbox. The Oilers lined-up like this against the Kings in Game 1. Henrique – McDavid – Hyman RNH – Draisaitl – Foegele Kane – McLeod – Perry Holloway – Carrick – Janmark By comparison Edmonton’s current forward lines are: RNH – McDavid – Hyman Kane – Draisaitl – Holloway Foegele – McLeod – Ryan Brown – Carrick – Janmark Henrique did well but got injured. Foegele played poorly and was bumped down the roster, until Knoblauch finally found a home for him, recreating the Foegele, McLeod and Ryan checking line that had done so well last playoffs against Vegas. Perry played poorly and was bumped out of the line-up. Kane played well and was promoted to play with Draisaitl, where Kane’s ferocity and shooting have been critical to the Oilers. Holloway has been the best surprise of the playoffs, suddenly skating, passing and defending like a Top 6 forward, earning a promotion to the Draisaitl line. Brown and Ryan have come to life and been given key roles as checkers on the fourth and third lines respectively. 2. Finding the right roles for role players. For years Edmonton has been stymied because the team has failed to come up with a strong checking line that the coach is willing to use against top opposing lines. Having such a line means the McDavid and Draisaitl lines get a break from facing off against top opposing lines. Knoblauch has now found not one, but two such checking lines, first the Foegele, McLeod and Ryan trio, and also the Brown, Carrick and Janmark trio. The two grind lines were assembled for the final two games against the Vancouver Canucks. Vancouver went from getting 20 Grade A shots in Game 5, to just 17 Grade A shots in total in the final two games, nine in Game 6 and eight in Game 7. The two grind lines deserve much credit for that improvement. 3. Getting the right forwards on the ice to end games. For years the Edmonton Oilers have gone with power against power to end games, putting out star attackers like McDavid, Draisaitl, Hyman and Nugent-Hopkins even when protecting a lead. But sometimes such attackers can get puck watching, over-aggressive and too hungry for empty net goals. Knoblauch has now taken to having players like Ryan, Brown and Janmark get more shifts in the final two minutes, a sharp and welcome change. The big guns are still out there, but they’re assisted by these defensive specialists. It helped the Oilers calm things down in the final four minutes of Game 7, after Vancouver had scored two quick goals. I suspect the Oilers might go with even more grinders late in games against Dallas. Such players are best suited to defend a lead. 4. Doubling down on organized aggression on the penalty kill. Edmonton’s penalty kill was inconsistent during the regular season, but has been the best in NHL in the playoffs, allowing just three goals on 35 attempts, a 91.4 per cent kill rate. When things went wrong in the regular season it was often because the Oilers were disjointed, with one player aggressively attacking the puck but getting beat and not having support. It seemed to me that the Oilers might be better off with a more passive approach, but I could not have been more incorrect. Instead, they have successfully doubled down on aggression, but mixed it with better organization, individual players not just attacking hard on the perimeter but also being backed up by their teammates. Dallas used this style of penalty killing to thwart Edmonton’s power play in a late season game, making it clear the Oilers had the right idea, but they just needed to get better at it. They have now done so, their kill now a whirlwind of organized aggression. Related STAPLES: Player grades for "stressful" Game 7 win over Canucks 5. Finding a way to score on a parked bus. To beat a zone defence, you can fast break up ice and get off shots before it has a chance to set up, something the Oilers have always excelled at. But once it does set up, the attacking team must make smart and rapid passes, setting up outside shots, then crash the net. Edmonton scored all three of its goals in Game 7 in this manner, all three ignited by outside shots: Cody Ceci’s points shot going in through a moving Holloway screen; Evan Bouchard’s point shot tipped in by a screening Hyman; and Bouchard’s power play slapper rebounding off the boards to RNH, who slammed it in. If and when the Oilers fail to score off the rush, they need to play this smart cycling and passing game, with goals coming off outside shots and hard plays at the net. They’ve often lacked the patience and will to attack in this manner, preferring to attack the slot with rushes and seam passes, but if all the defence will give up is outside shots, it makes sense to perfect scoring in this manner as well. Edmonton is working on it and, evidently, getting the hang of it. On the power play, the way to beat an aggressive perimeter press is with fast passing and hard, direct attacks right on goal. Edmonton’s still figuring this out but if Bouchard can deftly flip the puck past the defenders swarming him, getting it to Connor McDavid, few players are better equipped than McDavid to make a hard change on net, either passing or shooting for a Grade A shot. 6. One-two punch in goal. Edmonton lost against Vegas last season, in part, because the coaches either didn’t have another goalie they could trust or certainly felt that way, meaning they had to stick with Stuart Skinner even when he struggled. Against Vancouver, Knoblauch was able to trust in reliable Calvin Pickard when Skinner was off his game. Pickard delivered, but Knoblauch had the guts to go back to Skinner, his most reliable starter this regular season, in Games 6 and 7. It paid off, as Skinner came up with enough big saves in the final two games to help vanquish Vancouver. More of the same will be needed from Skinner and Pickard against Dallas. Goaltending remains the biggest question mark on the team. But it’s less of a question than it was a week ago, with Knoblauch, Skinner and Pickard all deserving of credit. It might well take a one-two punch in net to beat Dallas, but Edmonton might just have that combination. 7. Find a way to shelter and uplift Nurse and Ceci. Darnell Nurse is -10 on goals plus/minus, the lowest total in the NHL playoffs. Sometimes this stat lies, but not so much in this case. Nurse has indeed struggled. According to the Cult of Hockey’s video review, Nurse made just one play to help the Oilers score a goal at even strength in the playoffs but has made major mistakes on nine goals against. That said, Nurse has been trending up, as has his previous partner Cody Ceci. Ceci was one of the heroes of Game 7, scoring a goal and playing stalwart defence. Knoblauch has found a way to shelter and uplift both players, mainly by breaking up their failing partnership. Ceci has done better playing with Brett Kulak, whose great skating and solid reads have made him an exceptional playoff performer for the third year in a row. Nurse has found his game again paired with Vincent Desharnais, the two playing a simple, forceful style, where they’re at their best when they protect the defensive slot religiously and move the puck fast. Nurse is now rediscovering what made him a strong NHLer. He’s taking the man and moving the puck, rinse, repeat. The improvement is seen in his numbers, LA series vs Van series. Against Los Angeles in five games at even strength, he made major contributions to just two Grade A shots at even strength and major mistakes on 12 against. In seven games against Vancouver, he improved to eight major contributions to Grade A shots with just 12 major mistakes. That’s more like it, and a credit to both him and his coach. Of course, the Dallas series will present many new challenges. But Edmonton and its rookie coach are showing they can find solutions. They’re starting to looking like a ruthless and efficient team. Dallas has that same quality. so the clock ticks fast on Edmonton’s self-improvement course. At the Cult of Hockey STAPLES: Player grades for Game 7
Evan Bouchard becoming a modern day Paul Coffey for Edmonton Oilers
Having high-end skill is nothing. Lots of players have high-end skill. Same goes for having a great shot. What Evan Bouchard is doing right now is turning into a superstar before Edmonton’s very eyes, staking his claim in the same neighbourhood as Cale Makar, Adam Fox or Quinn Hughes. Not only is the 24-year-old Oilers defenceman delivering in the playoffs, he’s planting his flag on some absolutely clutch situations, scoring the overtime winner in Game 2 against Vancouver, the last-second winner in Game 4 and putting his stamp on Game 7 with a pair of assists for 11 points in the series. Before that he scored the only goal in a 1-0 first-round win over the L.A. Kings and followed it up with a three-assist night to close out that series. “No moment is too big for him,” defence partner Mattias Ekholm said after his winner in Game 4. “He’s playing his game and he doesn’t care what time of the game it is, what time of the year it is, he’s just playing his way. “That’s what I love about him and that’s what’s going to make him have an unbelievable career in this league.” He’s already there. Bouchard leads all defencemen in these playoffs with 20 points, making him the first defenceman in NHL history with 20 or more through the first two rounds of the playoffs. And he almost did it last year. In 24 playoff games over the last two seasons he has 37 points. When a guy saves his best work for the toughest and most important time of the year, you know you’ve got something special. “He raised to another level,” said Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. “He’s a pretty even keel guy, even on the ice, but it’s nice to see his intensity. “It’s not just the way he shoots the puck. We all know that he can hammer it and pick corners, but his intensity around our net, some of the battles he got into, it’s a great sign. He’s maturing and really figuring out he’s a bit of an animal.” From a player who started out as a defensive liability who was too casual in his own end, Bouchard has evolved into a legitimate star. If Connor McDavid is this team’s Wayne Gretzky and Leon Draisaitil is its Messier, then meet the new Paul Coffey. “Come playoff time you have to step up,” shrugged Bouchard, who’s as laid back and economical in his interviews as he in on the ice. “The team played very well and with team success you get individual success.” Make no mistake, Edmonton is pretty much the best place in the entire world for an offensively-gifted first-pairing defenceman to flourish. Paul Coffey is your coach. Ekholm is your partner and the other four guys on your power play are Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman. “Having a coach like Paul definitely helps, he wants you to make plays which is great for myself and everyone else,” said Bouchard. “And having Ekholm as a partner gives you confidence to do that much more. He’s smart with the puck, strong defensively, strong offensively, can make the first pass. He kind of does it all. So to have a partner like that definitely helps.” We get that. But what we’re seeing from Bouchard at the pressure-packed time of year is on a different level than almost every other defenceman in the NHL. “Unbelievable series, unbelievable player who’s just getting better and better as he goes,” said McDavid. “He’s so smart, one of the smartest hockey players I’ve ever played with. Just constantly learning on the go and we’re starting to see him come into his own. Everyone knew what he could do offensively but defensively he defends using his brain and he’s getting really good at that.” There he was, a player famous for his offence, out there on the ice in the final minute of a 3-2 game, trusted to help save the night in a building that was absolutely shaking in anticipation of one of the most stunning Game 7 comebacks of all time. Head Coach Kris Knoblauch knew long before he came to Edmonton that while Bouchard might not always look it, he’s a killer. “We had quite a rivalry with the London Knights,” said the former Erie Otters coach. “You see this tall, lanky defenceman and I thought, ‘All right, let’s take advantage of him. He looks a little sleepy out there, maybe a little lost. All right, we’re going to take advantage of him.’ “Well, we never did. And the things I saw in the Junior level at 16 years old, he’s doing it at the NHL.” And the turnovers? Like Leon Draisaitl in the playoffs, the balance between those turnovers and what he contributes on the other end of the scale is so lopsided it’s barely worth mentioning. “He has the puck an awful lot so he doesn’t need to defend that much,” grinned Draisaitl. “He’s a great hockey player.” E-mail: rtychkowski@postmedia.com Related Bring on the Stars: Edmonton Oilers KO Canucks in Game 7 triumph Edmonton Oilers put boots to Vancouver Canucks to force Game 7
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5 THINGS: Who holds the edge in as Edmonton Oilers take on Dallas Stars in Western Conference final?
Bring on the Dallas Stars. The Edmonton Oilers earned a trip to the Western Conference final for the second time in three years (but just the third time since 2006), following a 4-3 series win over the Vancouver Canucks in a second-round showdown between the last two Canadian clubs standing in the playoffs. It took coming back from 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2 series leads by the Canucks, who finished ahead of Edmonton in first place in the Pacific Division, putting the nail in the proverbial coffin with back-to-back wins, including a 3-2 result Monday in Vancouver. In doing so, the Oilers became the only team left of the final four who didn’t finish atop their respective division, with the Metropolitan Division-leading New York Rangers and the Florida Panthers, winners of the Atlantic Division, squaring off in the Eastern Conference. Waiting for the Oilers is a Stars squad that finished first in the Central Division and the Western Conference with 113 points (52-21-9) before downing the Vegas Golden Knights 4-3 and the Colorado Avalanche 4-2. Here are five factors to consider heading into the Western Conference final and which team might hold the advantage: 1. STARTING SKINNER If there is one thing we know about the Oilers starting goalie, it’s that Stuart Skinner won’t be starting every game in the best-of-7 series. Not if they want to give themselves a fighting chance, anyway. As a rookie last year, his all-star season stalled out in the playoffs, where he started every game but ended up getting pulled in four of them on the way to a second-round ousting. This time around, Skinner made it through five first-round starts before being sat for Games 3 and 4 against the Canucks. He returned to earn back-to-back wins while facing back-to-back elimination games to turn the tide in what had been a back-and-forth series. Perhaps more importantly, the team in front of him responded as well, both on offence and defence. So, while he gets two days to rest before starting Game 1 in Dallas on Thursday, expect to see the very capable backup, Calvin Pickard, get handed the reins at some point. On the other side, Jake Oettinger has started all 13 games for the Stars with no signs of slowing down. Advantage: Dallas 2. SPECIAL TEAMS Special teams made all the difference in a one-goal game Monday. The Oilers went 1-for-2 on the power play while holding the Canucks to 0-for-3. But it wasn’t just Game 7. The Oilers tipped the scales in their favour by going 6-for-21 on the man advantage, while limiting Vancouver to 3-for-22. The Canucks went without a power-play goal in the final four games of the series despite having 13 opportunities. In games where a team won the special-teams battle, Edmonton came out ahead 2-1, including Game 7. In the regular season, Edmonton’s power play finished fourth overall (26.3%), two places ahead of Dallas (24.2%). In the playoffs, the Oilers boast the NHL’s top power play (37.5%), while the Stars are fourth overall (29%). On the penalty kill, Edmonton finished 15th (79.46%) in the regular season, compared to eighth-place Dallas (82%). But here in the playoffs, Edmonton also leads the way in penalty killing (91.4%), while the Stars are 11th (69.2%). Advantage: Edmonton 3. TOP STARS When it comes to offensive talent, both rosters hold a significant amount, but are constructed differently. It’s difficult, of course, to overlook the Oilers coming into this series with the top four points leaders in the playoffs. Leon Draisaitl leads the way at a two-points-per-game clip with 24 (eight goals, 16 assists) in 12 games, followed by Connor McDavid (two goals, 19 assists), Evan Bouchard (five goals, 15 assists) and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (four goals, 12 assists) in fourth place. Zach Hyman also leads the league with 11 goals in 12 playoff games. Dallas will counter by committee, with the numbers showing they come out ahead in roster depth. And, in a long drawn-out series, that could mean everything. While they don’t have a player among the top 10 points leaders, Miro Heiskanen comes in at No. 11 at a point per game, with 13 points (five goals, eight assists) in 13 playoff games. Advantage: Draw Related Bring on the Stars: Edmonton Oilers KO Canucks in Game 7 triumph Excitement and pressure amping up for Edmonton Oilers ahead of Game 7 4. COACHING CHOPS Kris Knoblauch deserves all the credit in the world. Yes, he guided a team led by two of the best players in the world to an impressive 46-18-5 (.703) record as a rookie head coach. But he first had to help bring them back from the brink of despair following a 3-9-1 start under the former regime to get them back on the playoff track everyone expected of them coming into the season. Here in the playoffs, he has shown he isn’t afraid to make tough decisions and try to do something about it when things aren’t going as planned. On the other side, Stars veteran bench boss Peter DeBoer is coaching in the conference final round for the fifth time in six years. Advantage: Dallas 5. FAN FACTOR The Stars have home-ice advantage heading into the series. And it’s a good thing for them, too. Unless we’re talking football, this one is no contest. Advantage: Edmonton E-mail: gmoddejonge@postmedia.com On Twitter: @GerryModdejonge
Player grades: Edmonton Oilers "make things stressful" but shut down Vancouver Canucks in Game 7 win
“We know how to make things stressful,” said Connor McDavid after it was all over, something of an understatement even as the Edmonton Oilers gutted out a 3-2 win in Game 7 over the Vancouver Canucks. Never in doubt, as my Cult of Hockey colleague Bruce McCurdy likes to say. The Oilers came close to letting Vancouver back in the game in the last minutes, until a smart time-out by coach Kris Knoblauch after Vancouver’s second goal calmed the team. Vancouver did not have a Grade A shot on net after that. But for much of the game, the Oil’s defensive play was outstanding, I’d always hoped the Oilers would finally get one strong checking line, but out of nowhere, it seems, Knoblauch has come up with two of them (Ryan, McLeod, Foegele and Brown, Carrick, Janmark). Again, they were not perfect, but did solid work all game, bottling the Canucks up with relentless and tenacious checking. The defensive effort was particularly adept at guarding the Edmonton slot, a huge weakness in other playoff seasons, but evidently a priority of this Oilers team. They’re tired of losing to inferior teams, it would seem. In the end, the Grade A shots in the game were 13 for the Oilers, eight for Vancouver, with the subset of 5-alarm shots four for Edmonton, just three for the Canucks. The score was indicative of the overall play. Connor McDavid, 7. He did not go supernova this game but he and his buds got the jobs done in a gritty effort. He finally got rolling on Edmonton’s early second period power play, moving for a slot shot that Hyman almost jammed home. He lost the faceoff leading to Vancouver’s second goal. He played just 20:31, a testament to the team effort. #97 Contributions to Grade A Shots (GAS): Even Strength: +1/-1; Special Teams +3/-0. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, 8. Great game, huge goal. His special team success continued with solid PK work in the first, then he jumped on Bouchard’s rebound on the power play to snap in Edmonton’s third goal. A back-breaker of a goal, putting up the Oilers up three and coming late in the second. #93 GAS: ES +1/-0; ST +1/-1 Zach Hyman, 7. Came through once more. He charged up ice and went hard to the net for an early Grade A. He executed a solid puck protect, pass, goalie screen, and tipped shot on Edmonton’s second goal, with Arturs Silovs caught looking out on the wrong side of Hyman on Evan Bouchard’s outside shot. #18 GAS: ES +3/-0; ST +0/-0 Leon Draisaitl, 7. He got on ice for just 4:09 in the first, while J.T. Miller was at 9:10. He flubbed a power play one-timer attempt in the second, then got stoned by Cole/Silovs on a deadly harpoon a moment later. He made the pass to set up Bouchard’s one-timer on Edmonton’s third goal. He had some mistakes on defence in the second but blocked Garland’s shard shot late in the period. He allowed Di Guiseppe in on a third period breakaway but the Canuck missed the net. But some solid defensive plays in the last minutes. #29 GAS: ES +1/-3; ST +4/-0 Evander Kane, 6. He blasted Cole with a hard hit in the first. In a battle for supremacy of the Apex Predators, he out-raced Nikita Zadorov for a puck and almost scored on his break-in. #91 GAS: ES +0/-0; ST +0/-0 Dylan Holloway, 7. He’s flying out there. Jumped on a loose puck and fired on net for Kulak’s great rebound shot early in the first. He won the face-off then executed a fly-by screen on Ceci’s goal. He launched a one-timer harpoon on net a moment later off a Draisaitl cross-ice pass. #55 GAS: ES +3/-2; ST +0/-0 Ryan McLeod, 5. Good game but one ugly mistake. He threw a hit, won a board battle and set up Ryan for a decent shot early on. But he got his stick up, taking a four-minute penalty late in the first, ending a rough shift against the Miller line. He breathed some life into the Canucks when he whiffed on an own zone pass in the third, allowing Connor Garland a clear shot and goal. #71, GAS: ES +0/-1; ST +0/-1 Derek Ryan, 7. He shut things down, which is his job. He charged in early on and almost jammed in a misplayed puck by Silovs. Part of strong PK late in first. #10, GAS: ES +0/-0; ST +0/-0 Warren Foegele, 5 . Another PK star of the Oilers. He went to the wrong man on a Vancouver rush, leading to the Canucks first Grade A shot of the game, 31 minutes into the match. A few mistakes in his own zone. #37, GAS: ES +0/-2; ST +0/-1 Sam Carrick, 7 . His best game as an Oiler. He played a part in Edmonton’s second goal, keeping alive the o-zone cycle. Threw two thumping hits on Zadorov in the second. His line had a great shift cycling the puck deep early in the third. #39 GAS: ES +1/-0; ST +0/-0 Connor Brown, 7 . A key cog in Edmonton’s strong defence. Part of huge first period PK effort, earned himself a breakaway but failed to drain it. He kicked off the Virtuous Cycle on Edmonton’s second goal, rushing the puck into the Vancouver zone and making a solid pass. But a mental error in the third, a clearance of the puck that went out for a penalty. The coach had him out in the final minute to hold on to the win. #28, GAS: ES +2/-0; ST +01/-0 Mattias Janmark, 8. One more solid game from one of Edmonton’s most under-rated players. He jumped up for a great wrap-around pass but Carrick could not get a handle on his pass. He won a PK battle to set up Brown’s breakaway. He allowed Hronek’s outside shot on their second goal. The coach had him out in the last minute and he made a key shotblock with on Millers with 13 seconds left. #13, GAS: ES +1/-1; ST +1/-0 Evan Bouchard, 8. He snapped home an outside shot through Hyman’s screen to score a Californian( named for Joe Pavelski and Brent Burns, who executed so many of these screened or tipped outside shot goals against the Oilers). His ripping slapper missed the net on the power play late in the second, but RNH was able to get the rebound and deposit it. His ill-timed icing led to the face-off where Vancouver got its second goal. He kept a clean sheet at even strength, not one major mistake on a Grade A shot against. #02, GAS: ES +1/-0; ST +1/-0 Mattias Ekholm, 7. Just keeps churning out the good games. Some excellent PK clearances on the first. He kept the puck in leading up to Edmonton’s second goal. He screened Skinner on Vancouver’s second goal. #14, GAS: ES +2/-1; ST +0/-0 Darnell Nurse, 6. He was heading off the ice before the puck left the zone, contributing to Mikheyev’s great chance early on. He won a key battle on the late first period kill. Solid all game, just a few glitches on defence. #25, GAS: ES +0/-1; ST +0/-1 Vincent Desharnais, 6. A few struggles with the puck. His early turnover led to Ilya Mikheyev’s breakaway chance. But sound on defence, keeping a clean sheet, not one major mistake on a Grade A shot against. #73, GAS: ES +0/-0; ST +0/-1 Cody Ceci, 7. Solid defence all game. Part of a fine first period PK effort. He ripped an outside shot through a screen for Edmonton’s first goal, a perfectly executed Californian. He charged the net a moment later and almost scored. #05, GAS: ES +1/-1; ST +0/-0 Brett Kulak, 7 . A good game, another one in the playoffs for Kool Kulak. He almost beat Silovs 90 seconds in with a 5-alarm shot. He had a crucial shot block on Garland half-way through the third. #27, GAS: ES +0/-0; ST +0/-0 Stuart Skinner, 7 . Not a lot of action but was big when called upon. He stared down Ilya Mikheyev on an early breakaway chance and won the challenge, the Russian missing the net on his deke. But then came the Canucks push-back. He stopped Lafferty’s break-in shot in the second, his first Grade A save of the game. Next, he stopped a dangerous tipped shot, followed up by a difficult Garland snipe off a low-high pass through many moving bodies, and a save off Di Giuseppe through a Nurse screen. He twarted Pius Suter’s dangerous slot shot in the third and came up huge on a 5-alarm blast from Elias Pettersson on his doorstep on Van’s third period power play. He got beat clean by Garland. There was a heavy screen on the second goal.
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For new Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube, this question won't be answered on Tuesday
The question that will be on the minds of most won’t have an answer when Craig Berube is introduced as the new Maple Leafs coach on Tuesday morning. What will Berube do to guide the Leafs’ best players to the point that they can be actual difference-makers in the Stanley Cup playoffs? Everything else lined up for Berube’s predecessor, Sheldon Keefe, in the latter’s tenure of 4 1/2 years as Leafs coach. Under Keefe, the Leafs recorded three consecutive 100-point regular seasons, a fact that no other man who has stood behind the Toronto bench can use as a bragging right. When the hockey mattered most, though, we know what happened: The Leafs couldn’t break through in the playoffs and, when they did advance to the second round a year ago, the usual refrain resumed. In three of its four losses to Florida in a series that went just five games, Toronto lost by one goal. This spring, Keefe didn’t have the usage of a full lineup in the first round against the Boston Bruins for all seven games and, by that, of course, we’re referring to William Nylander’s migraines and Auston Matthews’ illness and head injury that caused the club’s best forwards to miss time. We’ll never know if the outcome would have been different had Nylander and Matthews both been healthy for every game. You have to entertain the idea, though, that the scales would have been tipped in the Leafs’ favour and, if so, then the narrative today changes. Having said that, we would have picked the Panthers to beat the Leafs in the second round. The elephant-in-the-room type of question that goes hand-in-hand with Berube’s ability to squeeze more from the Leafs’ stars in the post-season, of course, is which core players will be remaining when the puck drops for opening night of the regular season. Extensions for Matthews and Nylander start this coming season, extensions that were authored by general manager Brad Treliving with Matthews signing last August and Nylander this past January. With those contracts, Treliving tied the Leafs’ future to the backs of Matthews and Nylander. Captain John Tavares, with one year left on his contract, might not be asked to waive his no-move clause. With Mitch Marner, it could be much different. If the Leafs make true on their desire to make core changes, even the most casual of observers take that to mean that Marner will be asked to consider waiving his no-move clause. If Marner decides he doesn’t want to do that — and we go back two weeks ago when he said his wish was to remain with the Leafs for the long term — then Treliving’s off-season becomes that much more intriguing. There would be many worse things than having Marner back in 2024-25 for the Leafs to finish his contract. No matter what Marner has or has not done in the playoffs, though, watching him walk in free agency next summer with zero return would be a major blow to the organization. But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. If Berube wants a chance to coach Marner with the rest of the core, perhaps giving him that opportunity could bear playoff fruit in the end. That leads to another question, though: What could reasonably be deemed as playoff success in Toronto? Is it Berube coaching the team beyond the first round next spring? Do people really think that Berube is suddenly going to turn the Leafs into legitimate Cup contenders in one year? As it stands today, we can’t say with certainty that the Leafs will be any better under Berube than they were under Keefe. Look at this past regular season — Keefe coached the Leafs to a 102-point season through a minefield that included injuries to key players and goaltending that found consistency elusive at times. All the while, Treliving’s words that the Leafs defence corps was a work in progress hung in the air. And yet, defensive play was not the reason the Leafs lost in seven games to the Bruins. The Leafs played tight hockey, especially in the latter stages of the series. We hate to break it to you, but if the Leafs weren’t being held properly accountable within their four dressing room walls, they wouldn’t have persevered like they did in the regular season and they wouldn’t have played smart defensive hockey in the playoffs. At no time did the Leafs quit on Keefe. Berube won the Cup in 2019 with St. Louis after taking over mid-season when Mike Yeo was fired in Nov. 2018. The Blues, though, never got close to hoisting the silver mug again with Berube as coach and his regular-season record in the past several years wasn’t on par with Keefe’s. The Leafs have to figure out what’s happening with Marner, Treliving has to get it right with the changes he is bound to make in goal and he has to find a way to turn his defence corps into one that is no longer a work in progress. Lance Hornby looks back at the 15 Maple Leafs coaches he has chronicled SIMMONS SAYS: On second thought, Craig Berube was a good hire for the Maple Leafs As for Berube’s impact on the core and how that is measured in success next spring? Sure, Berube will be a different voice than Keefe was. But that question can’t be answered on Tuesday when Berube and Treliving hold court at the Ford Performance Centre. tkoshan@postmedia.com X: @koshtorontosun
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