'It's infectious': Why Ryan Reaves must be in Maple Leafs' Game 1 lineup

TORONTO — A humble prediction: Ryan Reaves will totally be in the Toronto Maple Leafs' lineup for Game 1 of the playoffs — and that will be the correct decision.

Imagine: The man analytics despised in October helped tilt the ice (70.6 Corsi-for percentage) more than any other skater in Wednesday's star-studded battle, which saw Andrei Vasilevskiy and the Tampa Bay Lightning execute a tidy 4-1 road win at Scotiabank Arena.

Despite the outcome and a missed opportunity to officially punch their ticket to the dance, the Leafs are encouraged that their oldest forward is looking younger in April than he has all season.

"Well, tonight was by far and away the most physical he's been in terms of just being able to get there on time, make the contacts, have them be impactful contacts that really I thought set a tone in the game," coach Sheldon Keefe raved. "Not just that. He also got pucks back. And he's at the net-front."

And he's drawing penalties. And he's knocking Leafs villain Tanner Jeannot out of the game with his fists. (Jeannot, who requested the fight, is doing fine, per Tampa coach Jon Cooper.)

"Reavo was leading the charge. So, that's terrific to see."

Terrific and just a tad surprising, considering all the minuses Reaves compiled early in his three-year contract with Toronto and the weeks of unhealthy, then healthy, scratches that had him questioning his own abilities in the cold of winter.

"Compared to the beginning of the season, it's been night and day. It's what they've expected out of me the whole season," Reaves says. 

"I'm glad that that's clicking. I'm glad that the line's clicking, playing more physical. We've had our chances in the offensive zone."

The Maple Leafs' fourth line, though used sparingly, has been a blackhole in postseasons past. Not enough energy. Not enough goals. Not enough trust.

And while far from perfect, Reaves' renewal has given that unit some swagger this week, against two rugged, Florida-based rivals that Toronto could very well face in a series.

"I think that month, month-and-a-half that I was out, I used that as a mini training camp. I worked. I worked hard. I bagged. I worked on everything that I could. I was doing two-, three-a-days sometimes and just trying to get confidence back," a thoughtful Reaves reflects.

"Confidence is a real thing. You know, that's the first time I've probably gone through something like that in my career, where I just felt like nothing was going right, and I just felt like I had no confidence. I just used that opportunity to try and build it back. And coming off of the [all-star] break, it felt like my game started getting a little bit better. And then just been building on it ever since."

Auston Matthews knew Reaves more by reputation than as a person before the 37-year-old was recruited by GM Brad Treliving to make the Maple Leafs louder.

But the top-line guy with 63 goals will sing the praises of the bubble guy with three: How Reaves's positive energy is contagious. How he's one of the athletes willing to pour in extra hours on skills work to maximize those eight minutes of ice time. How Reaves' love for the game – for the boys – ripples through the bench and boosts the mood right along with the game's entertainment value.

Whether he's squaring off toe-to-toe with Matt Rempe or dumping Victor Hedman on his keister via the forecheck, Reaves can still rile up a home barn and get his teammates banging sticks.

"Over the last month or so, he's been playing some of his best hockey since he's been here," Matthews says. "You see the impact he makes on the ice, the way he plays, his physicality, fighting. And then just on the bench, the energy that he brings in the locker room and everything like that... it's infectious.

"In my opinion, he's had a lot more confidence with the puck and has made plays, and he sticks to his game still. I mean, he's been flying over the ice. And obviously when he brings up the physicality, when he makes those hits, you can hear the crowd get going."

The NHL playoffs, particularly early, are very much about energy and physicality and tone-setting.

As the Leafs get healthy, some NHL-level forwards will need to sit.

Put Reaves in to start Game 1. Then go from there.

"That's not a question for me," Reaves says. "But I'm just gonna do my job. I can only do what I can do and play physical and take care of my own."

So far, so good.

Fox's Fast Five

• Matthews once again snapped Matthews' single-season Leafs franchise record for goals, notching his 63rd.

He ripped a game-high six shots and 14 attempts.

The pace is 69. The hope among teammates is 70, and no doubt he's going for it.

"It's incredible," says Simon Benoit, who only trails Matthews by 62 goals in the Rocket Richard Trophy race. "I'll be feeding him as many passes as I can. I don't need extra goals."

• Jon Cooper was named head coach of Canada's men's team, by GM Doug Armstrong, when the NHLers planned to participate in the 2022 Beijing Games.

Armstrong was renamed Team Canada's GM for the 2026 Games (and 2025 Four Nations Face-Off) but has yet to name his coaching staff. 

"Nobody's talked to me about it," Cooper says. "But I'm a proud Canadian, and anytime you get an opportunity to represent your country, I'm the first guy in the door.

"Anytime you get to represent your country, it's an honour."

• Joseph Woll has allowed a goal on the night's first shot in three of his past four starts.

"I don't think it's a pattern you can make anything of," Woll says.

What's the key to a good start for a goalie?

"Ideally, a save," Woll smiles.

• Tom Wilson, returning from suspension, addressed his high stick of Toronto's Noah Gregor. And, surprise, he doesn't believe the punishment fits the crime.

"The hard part for me is, he doesn’t miss a shift, and I’m gone for six games. It’s a tough pill to swallow when that's the case. It felt like a long time," Wilson told reporters. "I think he knew right away it was an accident."

Wilson did apologize to Gregor after smashing his mouth. He pointed a finger at folks latching onto the slow-motion replay and blowing the incident out of proportion.

"After the game, no one's really talking about it. It was honestly a complete accidental play, and coaches aren't talking about it, media's not talking about it. Ref gave me a double minor.

"And then overnight with slow-mo and all that, next morning you wake up to a crazy amount of media. And it's one of those plays where it happens really quick." 

• Every player in the game registered at least one hit. 

Simon Benoit had 11.