Don’t forget about us!
That might well be the battle cry of the Toronto Maple Leafs veterans in their first-round series against the Washington Capitals.
While much has been made — and rightly so — of the team’s celebrated and talented group of rookies, there are a handful of veterans that are contributing greatly to the team’s success thus far in the playoffs.
So while freshmen Auston Matthews, with his first career post-season goal, and William Nylander played a large role in getting the Maple Leafs to overtime for the third playoff game in a row, veterans Nazem Kadri and Tyler Bozak had a significant hand in putting Toronto up 2-1 in their best-of-seven series against the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Capitals.
With the Capitals up 3-1 in the second period, Kadri scored to pull his team within one before Nylander forced overtime with a goal at 19:20 of the same frame.
Bozak, who has thrived as a key faceoff man and solid two-way centre, then gave the Maple Leafs the victory with his first goal of the playoffs — off a pass from Kadri — at 1:37 of the extra period.
Senators and Leafs fans both rejoice. Who knew?0:26
In Saturday’s Game 2, a Leafs’ 4-3 OT victory in Washington, it was veteran defencemen (albeit, young vets) Jake Gardiner and Morgan Rielly along with goalie Frederik Andersen, who hogged the spotlight, especially after fellow defender Roman Polak left the game with a season-ending mangled ankle.
It has been recognized that Toronto’s young players are not intimidated by the pressure of the playoffs. What is also being confirmed is Maple Leafs management is being rewarded for some very key decisions in terms of which players were kept versus those who were sent away when it was decided two years ago to enter into a strategic rebuild.
Bozak miscast as No. 1 centre
Bozak was miscast as a No. 1 centre early in his career, through no fault of his own, simply because the Maple Leafs didn’t have a better pivot to play with sharp-shooter Phil Kessel. As more of a two-way, second/third-line centre, Bozak is now thriving.
Kadri dearly wanted to be the team’s No. 1 centre — and might have been — had a ping pong ball not assured Toronto of the top pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, thereby allowing the club to draft Matthews who is now the odds-on favourite to be the rookie of the year following a 40-goal season.
Kadri was in the spotlight early in Game 3, first as the target of a few hits from the Caps seeking retribution for his aggressive play in the series, and then because of his response. He targeted tough Washington defenceman Brooks Orpik twice and got the better of both collisions with his significantly bigger opponent.
“There wasn’t much out there; you have to fight and grind for every inch you get,” Kadri said afterward. “I just felt the need to take a couple of opportunities and make a few clean hits.”
At six-feet and 190 pounds, Kadri is solid, but not huge. For him, making the most of a hit comes down to a little bit of science and timing.
“It’s just vulnerability — catching guys with their heads down,” Kadri said. “Obviously I’m not trying to hurt anybody out there, but a clean hit is a clean hit and they are doing the exact same thing to us. We are not a group that is going to be intimidated out there. If we get knocked down we’re getting right back up and going after them.”
Toronto’s Nazem Kadri, right, and Washington’s Brooks Orpik collide during Monday’s Game 3 at the Air Canada Centre. (Frank Gunn/Canadian Press)
The Maple Leafs were the obvious underdogs against Washington, but Bozak said that did not affect the team’s confidence.
“We like the underdog role,” Bozak said. “I think we have been counted out a lot this year, but we have come together as a group and I am really proud of the guys.”
If others didn’t give the Maple Leafs much of a chance against a team that finished 23 points ahead of them in the regular season, Toronto players entered the first round with the belief the Capitals respected their ability.
“I don’t think they are a naïve group; they’re not dumb by any means,” Kadri said. “They gave us respect. They knew we were not going to lie down and let them intimidate us. They are well-coached and we just came out and did what we had to do.”
If nothing else, the No. 2 wild-card team has proven it can play against the best.
