Game 6 Notebook: Berube promotes Pacioretty as pressure spikes for Maple Leafs

KANATA, Ont. — Stop us if you’ve heard this one before.

The Toronto Maple Leafs’ offence is struggling to generate high-danger scoring chances in closeout games.

Shut out at home Tuesday, Craig Berube and his staff deliberated over lineup changes to the forward group heading into Game 6 in Ottawa.

They have decided to keep the fresh legs of David Kämpf and Nick Robertson (who has a history of scoring after healthy scratches) on the shelf, however.

Toronto will roll out the same lineup it has for the past three games, making one potentially impactful tweak to the middle six.

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Finding a left winger to effectively prolong offensive-zone time for John Tavares and William Nylander’s second line has been a challenge. Max Domi, Pontus Holmberg, and Calle Järnkrok have all had their turn.

Now that responsibility falls to veteran Max Pacioretty.

“Get them the puck. Go to the net. Try and create some time and space for them,” Pacioretty says of the assignment. “They’ve both been playing great hockey, and my job is to get them the puck.”

Nylander hasn’t scored since Game 1 and was kept off the scoresheet in Game 5 for the first time all series. He and Tavares were minus-3 on Tuesday.

The hope is to rekindle some of the chemistry that trio had going months ago, prior to Pacioretty’s injury.

“He’s a big, heavy body,” captain Auston Matthews says. “He could definitely bring some energy to that line and give us a boost. Sometimes it’s all you need — to switch things up, give yourself a different look, and you go from there.”

Pacioretty, 36, has vowed to play each playoff game “like you’re willing to die on that ice.” And it’s not a stretch to think this could be the man’s last shot at the Stanley Cup.

So, the antsy, speedy Robertson will sit for a fourth straight game while Berube goes with size and strength to create netfront havoc, bang in rebounds, and increase cycle time. 

Sticking with a losing lineup will be seen as either resolved composure or a failure to adapt, based on Thursday’s result.

“I just didn’t feel that we needed that right now,” Berube said of the Robertson option. “There’s a lot to like on our team right now, the way things are going. So, best to leave it.”

Matthews expects his team to come out with a “high sense of urgency,” and there is no debate who is under the gun to perform here.

The Leafs need a monster night from Matthews and Mitch Marner.

“There’s more there. That’s my job to try to get them out of it — and their job,” says Berube, who has no interest in digging into the stars’ past failures for a fix. “That’s not gonna help me, or them.” 

Ottawa crowd is Ottawa proud

When the Maple Leafs drew their neighbours to the east as their Round 1 opponent, the joke was that Toronto had been gifted four to seven “home” games — a nod to Leafs Nation’s tradition of taking over the Canadian Tire Centre during regular-season provincial showdowns.

That has not been the case at all in these playoffs. Sens supporters have turned out in loud droves. We haven’t seen a single Leafs sweater or cap milling about the downtown hotels this week, and that’s a first for a road date in Ottawa.

After winning Game 4, Sens captain Brady Tkachuk vowed to drag the Leafs back down the 401.

“The fans deserved another game for all the energy that they’ve had,” Tkachuk explained of his Messier-lite guarantee. “Not just playoffs, but the last eight years, sticking with us. Sticking with the lows and the tough times. And it doesn’t mean anything if we don’t come out and play the way we need to (in Game 6).”

Belief is swelling in the underdogs’ room.

“Certain players like pressure and don’t really look at it with pressure. Our team is enjoying themselves. They’re excited to play. They’re enjoying the pressure,” says coach Travis Green.

“Inner belief and confidence is the big thing when it goes towards winning. Our team has that.”

Tkachuk is happy to play the house-money card.

“I don’t think there’s really any pressure…. no pressure on us,” he said.

“I’m expecting big things. This is not just about our team. It’s about our city. And you can feel the excitement, and we’re going to need it tonight.

“I don’t really think they know the impact that they have on our team.” 

Ullmark wasn’t always a goalie

You may be surprised to learn that Linus Ullmark, who has won the netminding battle over the past 120-plus minutes, wasn’t always a goaltender. He played some forward as a young Swedish boy.

Did he ever consider ditching the pads and making a go of playing out? If he applied his talent up front, could he have still turned pro?

“Excuse my language, but f— no,” Ullmark replied, speaking in a casual scrum during the 4 Nations tournament. 

“Yes, I was a goal scorer, but at the same time, I wasn’t any good at skating. Like, I had the vision for the game, but you gotta be able to work hard and practise and skate hard and do all the right things. And being that immature kid I was at the time, I was a way better goaltender — and then I worked with a lot of good people when it came to that part. 

“So, no, I don’t think I would have made it to the show.” 

Ullmark is open to the hypothetical, though.

“It’s fun thinking about what kind of a player I would’ve been if I made it. Would I have been a grinder or a fourth-liner? Or would I be a top-six skill guy? I don’t know,” he wondered. 

Then it clicked.

A low-cardio, high-pain-tolerance role.

“Tomas Holmstrom. Yes, right in front of the net all the time, caged and everything. Just eating pucks.”

Fourth line flyin’

While Toronto’s third line has been, at best, a work in progress this series, Berube loves the identity of his fourth unit.

The trio of Scott Laughton, Steven Lorentz and Calle Järnkrok has started and finished periods, earning the trust of their coach through honest blue-collar effort.

“They work and they hound as a unit, and that’s why they have success. That’s the bottom line,” Berube says. “Constant pressure, checking, work — that’s why they have success.” 

Despite getting top-six matchups on occasion, the line has tilted the ice in Toronto’s favour, outshooting the Sens 12-9.

Berube would love the Laughton line’s approach to rub off on some of his forwards further up the chart.

“We can have that mentality more as a team, for sure,” Berube says. “You have to have that work mentality and that checking mentality. Checking’s not just playing defence. Checking is offence. You check for your chances. You get to the inside. You work and hound. It creates turnovers from the other team. It creates chaos for the other team. We can do a better job of that as a team.”

One-Timers: Thomas Chabot had a rough start to this series. Of all the Senators, he may have shown the greatest improvement from Game 1 through Game 5…. The Maple Leafs lead the series in aggregate scoring (15-14) and total shots (128-121) but trail in deeper metrics like shot attempts (327-278), scoring chances (139-124), high-danger chances (55-54), and expected goals (14.6-13.7)…. Toronto’s power play has turned from scorching hot to ice cold: 0-for-7 with two shorthanded goals against in the past two games…. Berube doesn’t fault Leafs fans for booing during Game 5’s loss in Toronto: “They want results.”

Maple Leafs Game 6 lineup vs. Ottawa Senators:

Knies – Matthews – Marner
Pacioretty – Tavares – Nylander
McMann – Holmberg – Domi
Lorentz – Laughton – Järnkrok

Rielly – Carlo
McCabe – Tanev
Ekman-Larsson – Benoit

Stolarz starts
Woll

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