TAMPA – As the Toronto Maple Leafs – Tampa Bay Lightning playoff series changes to the best of five and moves south of the border, another change is taking place.
This change is finer and, as we predict, more important for all those mini-battles in which one team outperforms the other.
Lightning’s John Cooper will have his last change in Amalie Arena matches 3 and 4 on Friday and Sunday, which means that the most successful active coach of this era will undoubtedly place his best exclusion against the Toronto Maple Leafs offensive line throughout world of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and Michael Bunting.
The fact that Matthews (two goals, three assists) and Marner (also) have already leveled or overshadowed their production through two (home) playoff games against Andrei Vassilevsky, as they did in seven games against Kerry Price last May, is a rich source of confidence in Maple Leaf Walls.
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But it is also indicative of the match in the game.
During the last change of line in games 1 and 2, Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe chose to equalize the strength of the offensive against the strength of the offensive. As a result, Bunting – Matthews – Marner managed to beat Ondrey Palace – Stephen Stamkos – Nikita Kucherov.
Locals who are quick to criticize the lack of Toronto’s Ilya Mikheev-John Tavares-Alexander Kerfut second-line production must admit that they have to deal with many of Tampa’s leading stop lines – Alex Killarn – Anthony Sirelli – Braden Point.
(It is true that Tavares had only one assist in this series. He also conceded a goal and had a 5 to 5 advantage in the chances of scoring, 10-8, although he is facing tough competition.)
All that will change once Cooper lands at the Amalie Arena dealer.
“This gives them a slight advantage,” Keefe admitted on Thursday. “The biggest thing really is how they will manage their defense. From the point of view of the future, I think this will be more definite than the places of collisions and things like that.
“I guess you’ll see Point, Sirelli and Killarn trying to spend a lot of time against Matthews and all that.”
While Stamkos and Kucherov felt obliged to generate insult and were inclined to give up more chances in another way, Sirelli’s unit was aimed at D.
Sirelli – who rightly appeared on the Selke ballots for four years in a row – must let Matthews and Marner fit in the way Philip Dano did in this discouraging series from Montreal.
“Good, smart player. He has good instincts. Good stick, Keefe said.
“He is a man who does not risk too much in attack, so he is in a good position in defense. He is a good and reliable player for them. “
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Matthews, a brilliant two-way center in itself, understands what’s on deck.
“Yes, he is good. He just plays very well on both sides of the puck. Play fast. Very versatile. He also does everything for them – a penalty, a game of force, “said Matthews.
“He’s flying a little under the radar, but he’s obviously a great driver for them.”
The main figures suggest that the Toronto-born Sirelli (a good friend of Marner’s) is Tampa’s greatest pilot.
No regular Lightning striker has a better percentage for Corsi or a 5-on-5 (53-plus) goal than Cirelli.
Although Cirelli started 55% of his shifts in the defensive zone, Tampa outscored his opponent 45-38 when on the ice.
This is the result of talent and smooth skating, combined with a beaver-like work ethic.
“He’s great at winning 50/50 battles – something I don’t think is talked about enough,” Killern said.
The good news for Toronto?
If Sirelli becomes attached to Matthews, Tavares should be able to set aside more space to generate for himself and his wings.
These critical, if not so obvious tests in the game are about to be redirected.
The top six teams that can take advantage of this fresh wrinkle could affect who holds the hammer when the series returns to Toronto next week.
One-off: Keef declined to give advice on Thursday on potential changes in the lineup of Game 3. Suspects are Kyle Clifford or Jason Spca will replace Wayne Simmonds on the fourth line. … The other series that caught Matthew’s eye the most? Pittsburgh – New York. “These two teams are a lot of fun to watch,” Matthews said. … Cooper for the unusually high 22 powers distributed in two games: “Just said about our series, most of these penalties are deserved. Both teams have to admit that. ”Пъл Maple Leafs took a bus to Buffalo on Thursday to fly from there to Tampa Bay, thus avoiding the risk of a positive quick test.
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