TAMPA, Fla. – After the golf games and fishing trips and afternoons spent by the pool, this probably should have been expected from the Toronto Maple Leafs.
What will truly be telling is how the team responds to Wednesday’s 5-2 loss to the 28th-place Tampa Bay Lightning — a game that featured very little emotion and next to no desperation from the Leafs.
One substandard performance can be tolerated when it comes on the heels of a three-day sojourn under the Florida sun immediately after clinching a playoff spot.
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The decision to spend that mini-break relaxing here was made for its perceived long-term value at the end of a punishing shortened season rather than any immediate effect it might have on the matchup with the Lightning.
It was also Randy Carlyle’s hope that it would relieve the tension and stress that mounted during the playoff chase, which was the main reason the coach cited for three poor outings in four games. After the game against Tampa, that total now stands at four of the last five.
However, Carlyle elected to fix his gaze on the horizon rather than pick apart what has happened over the last few weeks.
“You don’t really have time to think about the bumps,” he said. “Our overall game has got to get better than what it was tonight.”
If the Leafs are set on having any success in the post-season, it is an absolute must.
The rough-and-tumble hockey that has been a hallmark of this team was nowhere to be found against the Lightning. As a result, it turned into a skill-against-skill matchup and Martin St. Louis (three goals) and Steven Stamkos (one goal, one assist) got the best of the visitors.
However, the Leafs players headed south to Sunrise — where they’ll face the Panthers on Thursday — believing the time spent in Tampa will pay off when the games get more meaningful.
“It’s a great time to recharge,” Leafs goalie James Reimer said after a 21-save performance against the Lightning. “Maybe some people will think it wasn’t a good idea — I don’t know what the talk’s going to be — but from a player’s standpoint when you get that chance to recharge and kind of reset the body and the mind and the legs you try and take advantage of that.
“I think it was a really good choice by the coaches.”
Of course, the answer to that will only come in the weeks ahead.
The focus had largely been away from the rink after the team clinched a post-season berth on Saturday night in Ottawa. Carlyle even extended the rest period for Frazer McLaren and Colton Orr, among others, by sitting them out on Wednesday night.
It was the first time all season he’s filled out a lineup card with neither of them on it and ended up being no surprise when the Leafs didn’t add to their league-leading total in fighting majors.
The coach made it sound like a one off move and wouldn’t rule out using either man in the playoffs.
“It depends who we play and depends what the situation presents itself with,” said Carlyle. “We know what we can do and we know they’ve been great soldiers for our hockey club.”
The game against the Lightning almost looked like something seen during the exhibition season.
Carlyle juggled defensive pairings and wound up giving Mike Kostka a team-high 23:01 in ice time in what was his first appearance since April 4. It almost looked as some of the decisions were made in a bid to get some individuals going and others more rest.
It obviously wasn’t a recipe for success.
“I don’t think we were as sharp as we needed to be,” said Carlyle.
From the other side of the ice, Lightning coach Jon Cooper thought the days spent relaxing should have the Leafs more ready for the tough playoff hockey ahead.
“I actually like what’s happening to them,” said Cooper. “To have this little break, knowing that they are in the playoffs, kind of gives you a chance to decompress a little bit and take in the sun. … This little break in the schedule for them is I think going to really help them.
“I think they’re a better team going into the playoffs for having this break.”
He went on to say that he would rather be running a team grappling with that rather than facing six games over the final days of the schedule like the Boston Bruins.
There’s a pretty good argument to be made that both teams did themselves a disservice with Wednesday’s result. Toronto saw its chances of starting the playoffs at home diminished while the Lightning crept closer to the teams ahead of them in the standings at a time when the only thing they can truly win is the draft lottery.
However, Cooper won’t complain about winning as he navigates a new job and can only hope that has short run at the end of this season pays off the way it did for Carlyle, who coached 18 games in Toronto at the end of last year.
Cooper even referred to his colleague as the “ultimate role model.”
“He clearly came in this year and made some changes that were probably unexpected,” Cooper said of Carlyle. “He took the team upon himself and look where they are. I think he’s done a hell of a job.
“If we can sit here next year and be in the five seed, we’ll take that all day.”
Every situation changes depending on what angle it is viewed from.
The Leafs have clearly exceeded expectations with their position, but they have been far from sharp late in the season. The break in Florida is supposed to help. We’ll start getting a better sense as soon as Thursday whether it will end up having the effect.
“Our execution with the puck (has to be better) for sure,” said Carlyle. “It has to get better.”