3. It is tense in Toronto. You could see the organization was curious how things would transpire without an injured John Tavares and his calming influence. They are 1-1-1, but it simply doesn’t look right. In last year’s playoff, during the three games in Toronto, Patrice Bergeron had 35 even-strength minutes and saw Tavares for 31 of them. Coach Mike Babcock gave us something fun last Saturday at home against the Bruins — a solid taste of the Mitch Marner/Auston Matthews combo, the second-most ice-time of Matthews’ career, and 11:24 against Bergeron at even-strength (in the re-match Tuesday in Boston, Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy showed he wasn’t afraid of keeping it that way).
I loved that Babcock made the challenge, but you can see he’s not ready to trust this full-time — especially when riddled with the kinds of mistakes that came Monday at home against Columbus. As of Wednesday, Matthews has taken just 17 defensive-zone draws (winning 29 per cent of them), one of which led directly to a Blue Jackets goal on Monday night. The improving Frederik Gauthier has taken 66, Nick Shore 62 — and both are over 60 per cent.
You can understand why Babcock is doing it this way, he’s got to win games in a much tighter division, and he believes prime time is earned, not given. That’s not wrong, but I wonder if these times call for something different. In Winnipeg, Patrik Laine clamoured for more responsibility, and the Jets made him a deal: “Fine, but we will take it away if you don’t compete hard enough to make it work.” Laine got the message, and the early season difference is noticeable. In Edmonton, the ice time for Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid is probably unsustainable, but the two have accepted a challenge and it is a big reason the start of their season feels so much more promising.
Toronto’s cap situation means their top players have to be the drivers, as both Babcock and Matthews indicated after the Boston loss. Is it time to fully unleash them and challenge them to make the necessary improvements without sheltering?
4. As the pressure mounts, there will be plenty of talk about Babcock’s future. One thing everyone should remember: he takes a lot of the heat. A lot of it. What I respect about him is that he recognizes it as part of the job. Where does it go if he’s gone?
