TORONTO — It is in times of trouble where we usually learn what a coach really thinks.
So when the listless Toronto Maple Leafs fell behind the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-0 on Friday night, one change in particular stood out among the line reshuffling that followed: Nazem Kadri was elevated to a spot between Phil Kessel and James van Riemsdyk.
This wouldn’t be so notable if Kadri had more than two assists to show for his last six games. However, because the points have been slow to come it reinforced the notion that the Leafs brass has still been fairly happy with his play.
In fact, even before the 2-1 loss to the Penguins, Randy Carlyle defended the 24-year-old centre.
“I think he’s worked on his defensive game a lot more,” said Carlyle. “I think he’s a lot lower down in the defensive zone, he’s worked on his faceoffs. He’s done a lot of those things that we’ve asked of him and now he’s in a little bit of a dry spell.
“So we’ve got to find ways to help him through it.”
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Playing a period alongside Kessel and van Riemsdyk may not have ended his scoring drought, but it was a sign of encouragement from the coaching staff. Kadri was also on the ice for the frantic 6-on-4 power play during the final two minutes with Toronto pushing for the tying goal.
Earlier in the game, he thought he’d scored for the first time since Nov. 1.
Kadri briefly threw his arms in the air in celebration after tipping a Jake Gardiner point shot behind Thomas Greiss – only to see it clang off the high post and stay out. That’s just the way things have been going lately.
However, to Kadri’s credit, he’s found a way to remain remarkably relaxed despite amassing just seven points over the opening 17 games.
“I’m playing some really good hockey,” he said. “I’m playing just about as good as you can play without putting the puck in the net. I’m moving my feet, I’m drawing a lot of penalties and our power play’s going to work, so that’s a bit of a consolation for me.
“At the end of the day you’ve got to put the puck in the net.”
On a night where the Maple Leafs had far from their best effort, Kadri was a bright spot. He seemed to be around the puck from start to finish and that was reflected in his season-best 20:45 of ice time.
Toronto managed to survive a dreadfully slow start before eventually falling behind 1-0 late in the second period on a Pascal Dupuis tip-in. When the Penguins winger scored again 15 seconds into the third, Carlyle put his top three forward lines into the blender.
“After they scored the second goal… it couldn’t just stay the same,” the coach explained.
Kadri and Kessel formed a productive line with Daniel Winnik during a brief stretch together earlier in the season. However, injuries saw them broken up and Kadri’s offensive production stalled.
Part of the issue comes down to personnel.
With Kessel and van Riemsdyk playing alongside centre Tyler Bozak, and Joffrey Lupul sidelined with a broken hand, Kadri has been skating with Winnik and David Clarkson. Neither of those wingers could be characterized as a dangerous offensive weapon.
Yet, despite that usage, Kadri has remained the team’s most efficient player at generating shot attempts. He might not be well-versed in Corsi or Fenwick, but he’s certainly aware of what the advanced stats say about his game.
“I heard they kind of work in my favour,” said Kadri. “I haven’t really looked at any of those stats or anything. It’s not something I’d do. I’m just going to leave that to management.”
With his third full NHL season off to a slow start production-wise, Kadri has spent plenty of time in the video room. He’s broken down his game and looked for areas where he can get better.
There haven’t been too many specific issues that have jumped out recently.
“At this point you can’t really pick out too many things you would do differently,” said Kadri. “We’re skating, we’re moving the puck, we’ve got lots of zone time. I’m skating the puck through the neutral zone and getting in the zone, the puck possession’s there.”
He feels as if it’s only a matter of time before the points start coming.
“I’ve been doing this my whole life,” said Kadri, before adding: “I know I’m going to get there.”
Maybe it’ll come Saturday night in Buffalo. To these eyes he doesn’t look too far away from where he needs to be.
