TORONTO — Craig Berube smiles before he chooses his words.
Following the Toronto Maple Leafs’ final practice prior to attempting to exact playoff revenge over the Florida Panthers, a reporter asks the coach how he plans to deal with a team so “mean” as the one that flew to town Sunday afternoon.
Berube — whose career highlight reel and HockeyFights.com page are one in the same — gets a good smirk at the phrase.
“Are they mean?” he wonders.
He shrugs.
“They play a hard game. They forecheck hard. They’re physical. And they’re in your face the whole game. I don’t necessarily think it’s mean. That’s just their game.”
That simple, aggressive game plan is the precise blueprint Paul Maurice’s bunch has followed to back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals.
Chip pucks behind the opposition’s goal line. Pound the unfortunate defenceman tasked with the retrieval into the glass. Smother the poor sap who receives the outlet pass under pressure. Then activate at the blueline whenever possible to extend O-zone time. To create quality chances off won battles or, failing that, inflict a few more bruises.
“We’re gonna have to talk about (their forecheck). That’s a big part of their game,” Morgan Reilly tells reporters. “They’re hard on pucks, and their D are aggressive.”
Just because you know the train schedule doesn’t make it any easier to stand on the tracks.
Forechecker extraordinaire Matthew Tkachuck memorably said the Cats like to “play like there’s no puck out there” early. You know, to set the tone. Fear inspires mistakes.
Sam Reinhart explains that the Panthers forecheck will exhaust the opponent, but it is also an exhausting style to execute. That’s why Florida will have more regular-season lulls than, say, the Maple Leafs.
That’s also why the NHL’s best forecheck requires rolling four lines, like a full-contract relay race.
“Our system is really built on trust, knowing that the guy next to you and the four other guys on the ice are going to do their job — because you play such an aggressive style,” defenceman Seth Jones details to Florida reporters.
“A lot of man-on-man, all over the ice. You have your guy, a tight gap on your guy. You don’t give him time and space. And if four other guys aren’t doing their job, it’s hard. (Then) you give a little bit of space because you’re worried about something else.”
Jones, who got snapped from Chicago at the trade deadline, is new to the Way of the Cat. He points to the forecheck as the primary reason Florida ousted a good Tampa Bay squad in a swift five games.
Ran ragged by suffocation in their own zone, Lightning defencemen were slow to transition and pitch in on offence. Tampa got one goal from a defenceman in the Battle of Florida.
“Their D didn’t get much involved, because we’re hitting them and our forwards are getting up quick. And that allows our D to pinch. And that’s what really causes our forechecking game to come alive, when their D are fronting pucks and things like that,” Jones says.
“Doesn’t matter if it’s (Aleksander Barkov) and the first line, who’s super responsible, or the fourth line. Guys like (Evan Rodrigues, Jesper Boqvist, and A.J. Greer), who don’t play the minutes our top guys do, are still super responsible. And you can play the same way with whoever’s on the ice, which is super important.”
The Panthers were the top-hitting team in the regular season, so it’s no shock they also lead the playoffs in hits per 60 minutes (43.4). The Leafs rank 12th in that category (32.0) among the 16 teams that made the dance.
“They don’t play like individuals,” says Panther-turned-Leaf Steven Lorentz. “They buy into the system, and it works, and they’re just consistent night in and night out.”
There is no secret to the Panthers’ attack. The Leafs must be willing to absorb some punishment and execute exits as swiftly and smartly as possible.
“It’s basically going to boil down to five guys working against their forecheck,” Berube explains. “You can talk all the X’s and O’s you want.
“But in the end, they’re coming. So, you gotta battle and get it out. It’s going to be a grind.”
But what about the Leafs’ not-so-secret weapon?
Not only did Toronto’s power-play shed its reputation for shrivelling once the flowers bloom, but no Eastern Conference team was more efficient on the man-advantage in Round 1. The Leafs struck six times and come in humming at a 35.3-per-cent success rate.
Toronto’s quick-strike, five-forward power-play won Game 1 over the Ottawa Senators and earned that critical early lead in Game 6.
Maurice notes that an all-forward setup allows for more interchangeability of the five pieces. A defenceman running point might dip to a flank but won’t rotate all over the O-zone the way Mitch Marner does.
More movement means more chaos and more open lanes.
“If you let your guard down for five seconds,” Jones says, “it’s gonna be in your net.”
Florida’s penalty killers should be encouraged by two things.
The Leafs’ power-play went dry and gave up short-handed goals to Ottawa in Games 4 and 5 — both losses.
Meanwhile, Florida’s PK did a fantastic job of shutting down Tampa’s elite power play in Round 1. (The Lightning had the fifth-best PP in the regular season; the Leafs ranked ninth.) The Panthers’ 88.9-per-cent penalty kill is second among all playoff teams.
“Power play and penalty kill is huge,” says Gustav Forsling. “You can see it in every series.”
Jones notes that the handedness of some of the Leafs’ forwards differs from Tampa’s, but their attack is similar.
The Panthers will focus on hard stands at blueline and try to make it difficult for Toronto to enter with possession. And once they do, the Cats will be much more active on the PK than Ottawa was.
“Pressure them hard,” Jones says.
Don’t let them get comfortable. Interrupt passing lanes with smart sticks.
Better yet? Swipe the faceoff from Auston Matthews or John Tavares, two of the best.
To that end, Florida GM Bill Zito traded for killer forwards Brad Marchand and Nico Sturm at the deadline, thus taking pressure off his two Selke finalists, Barkov and Reinhart, who can save some breath for 5-on-5.
“For me, in the role that I play, I can make an impact,” Sturm says.
The former Shark notes that San Jose could go 100 per cent on the kill, but if team is still giving up five goals a game, who cares?
“On this team, that’s my reward,” Sturm says. “That’s what I get excited about. That’s my way to help.”
The Panthers’ dialled-in PK versus the Maple Leafs’ deadly PP, both coming in confident.
Is the Cats’ kill up to the task?
“We’ll find out,” Maurice says.
“If your penalty kill is not very good, you don’t have to live with it too long because you’re out of the playoffs. You gotta have a solid penalty kill to get to the next round. I think it’s more important than your power play.”
Marner brings dad strength to Game 1
Marner had the best excuse for ditching practice Sunday morning, as he and wife Stephanie were busy welcoming a baby boy into the world.
“He’s probably flying high right now. I remember I had my first child, and it’s a different feeling for sure,” Berube says. “It’s one of the best feelings you’ll ever have, in my opinion. I’m sure he’s very excited.
“It’ll be a lot of good positive things on his mind, which is good.”
The well-timed birth of Baby Marner — between rounds 1 and 2 — continues to grow the dressing room’s Dad Club. Rielly and Simon Benoit’s babies haven’t turned one yet, and Oliver Ekman-Larsson’s son, Leo (OEL backwards!), just celebrated his first birthday last month.
“It’s really special. Gives you tremendous perspective and meaning to life and see things really, really differently,” says John Tavares, a father thrice over.
“Anyone becoming a parent, becoming a father, it’s pretty remarkable. For him, he’s been probably real emotional and trying to soak it all in. It’s really, really special, so really happy for Mitchy and his wife and his family.”
One-Timers: David Kämpf and Nick Robertson will remain healthy scratches. They haven’t seen game action for 33 and 13 days, respectively. No. 2 goalie Joseph Woll hasn’t played in 18 days now … Matthews has been a beast in the dot. His 59.5-per-cent faceoff win percentage tops among all skaters who have taken at least 20 draws this post-season … Berube burst into laughter after delivering this line on William Nylander: “You talk about composure, he’s pretty composed… maybe sometimes too much.”
A new battle awaits pic.twitter.com/grq7XK368f
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) May 4, 2025
Maple Leafs projected Game 1 lineup vs. Florida Panthers:
Knies – Matthews – Marner
Pacioretty – Tavares – Nylander
McMann – Domi – Holmberg
Lorentz – Laughton – Järnkrok
Rielly – Carlo
McCabe – Tanev
Benoit – Ekman-Larsson
Stolarz starts
Woll
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