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The Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning resume their best-of-seven series, 72 hours after the Leafs improbable third-period comeback and Alex Kerfoot’s overtime winner in Game 4 to take a 3-1 lead in the Stanley Cup first-round matchup. The club is in the same spot that they were two years ago against Montreal, with the chance to close out the series and move on for the first time in 19 years, but the club is realistic that the Lightning’s championship pedigree will show in a do-or-die elimination scenario at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday.
"(We know) how difficult it is and just how important each and every play is and being prepared for that. Just knowing how things can swing with momentum and just executing at a high level and sustaining that with how difficult that is." Leafs captain John Tavares said. "(The fourth game is) the hardest one to get, especially with the opponent that we're up against and the challenge that presents, so we know we have to continue to get better and go out there and play well."
A large number of Toronto players took the optional skate on Thursday morning after an extra day off, a fact that may have helped the Lightning after losing a pair of overtime games where they were arguably the better team for most of the contest. That fact does not really matter, as the Leafs were able to rally in the third period in both Games 3 and 4 to tie the contest and win in overtime, but every Toronto player and head coach Sheldon Keefe had the same message, that putting away the Lightning, who have won three straight Eastern Conference titles and two Cups, will be their toughest task and will require their best effort.
"(The) biggest thing for us is to just focus on going out and playing a good hockey game." Keefe said. "We're a good hockey team, we've won lots of games. We've found ways to win games in this series. I think anytime we get outside of focusing on that is where all these other things start to creep in."
#Leafs at the morning skate prior to Game 5. The mantra of Toronto players was "the fourth game is the toughest." pic.twitter.com/Y205Yg1Abg
— Michael Augello (@MikeInBuffalo) April 27, 2023
Toronto is expected to maintain the same line combinations they used at practice on Wednesday, with Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews on separate lines. Marner skated with John Tavares and rookie Matthew Knies, while Matthews lined up with William Nylander and Calle Jarnkrok. Alex Kerfoot replaced Knies on the checking line with Ryan O’Reilly and Noel Acciari, with the 20-year-old being elevated into a top-six role. Through six games, the big winger has not been intimidated by the situation in front of him, in part because he is young, confident, and unaware of the pressure.
"I don't think he seems overwhelmed. I think he's just enjoying it. Sometimes in a situation like this, and when I think back to when I was 20 years old, being a bit naive is kind of good." Tavares said. "Maybe you don't understand the full circumstances of certain things you haven't experienced yet, so there's not maybe a lot of analyzing or overthinking. You're just kind of going out there and enjoying playing in the Stanley Cup playoffs and it's your first taste of NHL hockey and obviously a lot of belief and trust in his own game and I think as he's impacted the series, coming in at the end in the regular season and he's had some positive results and things he's fit in well, that confidence continues to grow."
There is an energy and buzz in Toronto. You can feel it getting off the Go Train or in line getting a coffee, but it is as much fear that something will go awry as it is the anticipation of success and victory. This version of the Leafs seems different than clubs of the past and has more depth than any in the last six years, but the last step is always the most difficult, and it will take the Leafs best playoff effort to get past Tampa.
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