The beloved hero of the last great Toronto Maple Leafs playoff run took in Game 1 of the Bruins-Leafs opening round series at home, relaxed, with no guests.
“Great start, and unfortunately they lost the lead, etcetera,” Doug Gilmour said of his alma mater’s 4-1 loss at Boston’s TD Garden Wednesday. “But they just got to let it go now and get ready for the next one.”
Still maintaining the mindset of an active player, the 49-year-old Hall of Famer takes an “it’s-just-one-game-in-a-long-series” stance. He finds unnecessary to pick apart problems with the Leafs’ approach to their first playoff game in nine years, yet he does have a suggestion for how Toronto’s top scorer, Phil Kessel, can get some momentum going Saturday against his former team.
“He didn’t play a lot (Wednesday) night,” Gilmour said. “And for a guy like that, he’s got to be on the ice a lot more. So if Chara’s going to try to be out there, try to double-shift (Kessel) a little bit. Put him with the third line; put him with the fourth line; just keep throwing him out. You never know.”
Kessel registered just one shot on Tuukka Rask Wednesday and saw 13 minutes and 51 seconds of ice time. With Bruins coach Claude Julien holding the final line change and all-world defenceman Zdeno Chara assigned to shut No. 81 down, six Leafs forwards got more play than Kessel — the first Toronto player to finish top-10 in NHL scoring in consecutive seasons since, yep, Doug Gilmour.
Kessel took a “maintenance day” Thursday and did not skate with the team. Who knows? Maybe he did a little reading.
Gilmour, who scored 188 points in his 182 NHL playoff games, stresses the importance of doing your individual homework in preparation for each series.
“You should try to figure out who you’re matched up with and mentally prepare yourself for it,” Gilmour advised. “You read the notes beforehand on who you’re playing against. For example, (when I played defenceman) Brian Marchment: ‘OK, he’s going to come across and try to take me out, so I’m not going to go through that side.’ You always look at all the guys on the opposition. You’re not playing scared, but you’re playing prepared at all times.”
Leafs Nation can only imagine Gilmour wearing one sweater, but over his 20-year pro career, the centreman dressed for seven different NHL teams. As his career went on, Gilmour gained a greater appreciation for the role of the GM when it comes to building a serious playoff contender. That, he stresses, is where the preparation begins.
“You play with different teams over time, and you look at how the general manager side puts things together — that’s huge. You got to have guys that are going to complement each other, and everybody’s got to accept their role. Your leaders lead, the other guys play, and it’s a snowball effect once you get things going,” Gilmour said. “This is a long series. There are a lot of guys in there who are very young. For what it’s worth, this is going to be a great experience for them. One game’s not going to change anything.”
