Expect Minor Adjustments From Maple Leafs in Game 2 Showdown Against Panthers

The Toronto Maple Leafs were on the wrong side of the win/loss column in Game 1 of their second-round Stanley Cup playoff series against Florida Tuesday, putting the Leafs in the same 1-0 series deficit that they were in during Round 1 against Tampa Bay. That’s clearly not ideal, but the positive news for Leafs fans is that, under head coach Sheldon Keefe, the Buds have shown the capability of rebounding, adapting and improving, and that’s what they’ll need to do again to advance to the Eastern Conference Final.

Certainly, taking your lumps and making changes for the better is a hallmark of all Cup-champion teams. That’s what Toronto is paying Keefe to do, and as Game 2 looms large Thursday night, we should expect the Leafs to play differently this time out.

For one thing, the Leafs will be looking to play a less high-risk, high-reward game against Florida than the one they played in Game 1. Toronto depended on starting goalie Ilya Samsonov to cover up any odd-man rushes they gave up to the Panthers, and on Tuesday, Samsonov couldn’t completely cover up all of the Leafs’ defensive mistakes. Look for Toronto to not hastily move up the ice in Game 2, playing with a higher panic threshold and waiting for the most opportune times to push in the offensive zone.

We also might be seeing the Leafs make a couple of tweaks to their forward group. At his media availability Wednesday, Keefe told reporters he may put star forwards Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews on the same line for Game 2; Keefe did pair up Matthews and Marner for a spell in Game 1, and though Marner is often played alongside captain John Tavares on the Buds’ second line, Keefe has shown this season he isn’t afraid to bump up Marner to the first line and move William Nylander to the second-line wing.

Keefe is likely to stick with the same three pairings on defense in Round 2. It’s possible youngster Timothy Liljegren gets scratched in favor of trade deadline acquisition Erik Gustafsson – or, perhaps much-maligned veteran Justin Holl, a healthy scratch in Game 6 against Tampa, gets another shot in the top-six defense group – but otherwise, we’re going to see Toronto’s veteran defensemen remain in the lineup. That means Morgan Rielly, T.J. Brodie, Jake McCabe, Mark Giordano, and Luke Schenn get leaned on once again to do the heavy lifting in the Leafs’ zone.

Up front, it’s difficult to envision Keefe making any huge changes to his collection of forwards. Rookie Matthew Knies continues to dazzle – including scoring his first-ever NHL goal on a gorgeous individual effort in Game 1 – and pesky winger Michael Bunting also played well in Game 1 against Florida. That leaves very little space for a worker bee like Zach Aston-Reese or Sam Lafferty to stay out of the press box as a healthy scratch. Aston-Reese played just 6:21 against Florida Tuesday, and before he was a scratch against Tampa Bay in Game 6 of the first round, Aston-Reese played only 6:14 in Game 5.

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As we’ve noted before, the Leafs’ depth players aren’t going to be the difference-makers against any opponent they take on this spring. Toronto needs its stars to deliver them to the third round and beyond. Again, that’s a good thing, as the Leafs have received big-time performances from Matthews, Marner, and captain John Tavares in this post-season. We don’t think Florida’s defense can keep Toronto’s top players off the scoresheet; for the Panthers, it’s all about limiting Matthews et al to one or two points per game. If they can do that, Florida has enough talent on offense to win games.

The Leafs definitely don’t want to lose Game 2 Thursday and go down 2-0 in the series when it shifts to Florida for Games 3 and 4. We’re not quite at must-win territory for Toronto just yet, but don’t fool yourself – Keefe and his coaching staff are fully aware of how big Game 2 is going to be for them. The playoffs are all about adjustments, and that’s what we’re going to see from the Blue & White as this second-round series unfolds.