TORONTO -- The Toronto Maple Leafs are not breathing any easier heading into Game 6 of the Eastern Conference First Round against the Boston Bruins on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; CBC, TVAS, SN, NESN, TBS, MAX).
Not when they needed every ounce of energy to keep their season alive in a 2-1 overtime victory in Game 5 on Tuesday that trimmed the best-of-7 series deficit to 3-2.
“We’ve earned another day here, but we are still in a battle,” Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe said Wednesday. “That certainly has not changed. We’ve gotten the opponent’s attention here now.”
That includes Boston coach Jim Montgomery, who was still seething the day after Game 5.
"I'm still [ticked] off from last night," Montgomery said. "Just being honest. I don't understand and don't accept our play last night, so I'm going to be [ticked] off until the puck drops tomorrow night."
When it does, Keefe is expecting nothing but the optimal version of the Bruins.
“Whether he has words or not, I expect them to be at their best,” Keefe said. “They’re a proud team. Last night, we got their attention. I think we showed our character and what we are about and what our purpose is in these games, and we expect them to be better just like they were when we beat them in Game 2 and how they came in, in Game 3. I don’t think the coach’s mindset changes anything. They’ve got lots of leadership on that team and they’re a veteran group.”
Whether that includes center Auston Matthews, who led the NHL with 69 goals in 81 regular-season games, remains to be seen. Matthews, who left after the second period of a 3-1 loss in Game 4 on Saturday, was unavailable for Game 5 with an undisclosed ailment. He skated on his own at the Maple Leafs’ practice facility Wednesday with two skills coaches, but Keefe offered no update on his status.
“Other players have to step up, nothing else we can do about it,” Toronto defenseman Simon Benoit said. “If he’s not in the lineup or in the lineup, we just have to figure out how to win.”
The Maple Leafs will need to end a streak of six consecutive home losses during the Stanley Cup Playoffs that dates back to Game 5 of the first round last season against the Tampa Bay Lightning in order to force a Game 7 on Saturday.
“Quite honestly, [being at home] means nothing,” Keefe said. “We have to play the exact same way wherever it is. We’re happy to give our fans another opportunity to play in front of them, but we have to approach the game no different than we have on the road in terms of our plan and what’s required.
“We don’t have to impress anything or do this or that; we have to win the hockey game and in order to do that, there is a process and plan that has been put in place and when we’ve done it well, we’ve been successful in this series and when we haven’t, we haven’t been successful.”
The road team has won four of the five games thus far with Game 1 in Boston the only exception (5-1 Bruins win). Boston will be trying to avoid going to a Game 7 after leading a series 3-1 for the second straight season; it held the same advantage on the Florida Panthers a year ago but failed to close out the series, including a 4-3 overtime loss in Game 7.
Maple Leafs forward Calle Jarnkrok said the way they played in the first period of Game 5, outshooting the Bruins 11-2, being aggressive on the forecheck and winning puck battles all over the ice, is the recipe they will try to employ again Thursday.
“I thought we came out flying yesterday,” Jarnkrok said. “We were hungry from the start. Our first period was great. Wish we had scored a couple more goals, but it was a great period for us.
“I think we can expect them to come out better than they did last night. It’s only getting harder to win each game that goes by, but by the end, that fourth game is the hardest one to win. So, we are going to try to make it tough for them tomorrow.”
