The Stanley Cup Playoffs are roughly 3 weeks away. The Toronto Maple Leafs are all but assured a playoff spot sitting 3rd in the Atlantic, 12 points ahead of the Florida Panthers.

Instead of scratching and clawing to reach the second season, the Leafs can now work on some key items to get ready for what looks like a challenging test. Their would be first round opponents look to be either the Tampa Bay Lightning or the Boston Bruins.

So what are some of the things the Leafs need to key on?

1. Get Andersen Ready and Rested.

Frederik Andersen returned in the Leafs 73rd game after missing 2 and a half games with an upper body injury. It was likely Andersen was going to get a break anyways down the stretch. Before his injury he was the leader in games and minutes played. He now sits behind Connor Hellebuyck in both categories. Andersen still leads the NHL on shots faced. Prior to the injury, the Leafs were off for 8 of the previous 9 days. So Andersen has had plenty of time off, even if it wasn’t scheduled. So how should the rest of the schedule play out for Andersen? Well the key is to not overwork him. The Leafs have only one back to back left, but do have a week where they have 4 games in 6 days.

A good plan may be:

March 24 vs Detroit – Andersen
March 26 vs Buffalo – Curtis McElhinney
March 28 vs Florida – Andersen
March 30 at Islanders – McElhinney
March 31 vs Winnipeg – Andersen
April 2 vs Buffalo – McElhinney
April 5 at New Jersey – Andersen
April 7 vs Montreal – Andersen

Andersen gets enough games to be sharp but also rest in between starts to be fresh. Considering his heavy workload, ensuring he can get 2-3 days between games would be excellent. And the fact of the matter is McElhinney has been excellent himself. The drop off from starter to backup has been lessened due to the play of the veteran McElhinney.

2. Easing Matthews Back In

Auston Matthews has missed 20 games so far. Injuries have wrecked havoc on the star’s second season. He still though has 28 goals. Matthews will return from a shoulder injury, his latest ailment that has cost him 10 games. He will have some ring rust and will need to get back to game shape. So while the games aren’t that urgent, it still is important to get him into games. The Leafs won’t rush him, but he seems ready to return shortly and slowly but surely they’re getting their full lineup back at the right time.

Sure, the Leafs are over .500 without Matthews, but let’s face it, they need him to win and to do any damage in the playoffs. Players like him can change the course of a game or a series. Players like him can carry a team on his own and dominate games. This is a team game and it relies on everyone to bring success, but to have that game breaker? There is no substitute.

Whatever game Matthews returns to, he will almost certainly dress in every one here on in to get his timing and energy back. If he gets going upon his return, with others like Mitch Marner and JVR being hot, that bodes well for the Leafs come playoff time.

3. Scale back Zaitsev

Defenceman Nikita Zaitsev has missed several games with what is being described as a terrible flu. So likely with weight loss and energy drain, he will be eased back into the lineup whenever he is cleared. But, whether he is healthy or not, Zaitsev should probably be getting a bit less ice time and responsibility to help bring his game back up. He struggled to start the season before a blocked shot put him on the shelf. Then, upon his return, he struggled even more.

During his first injury break, Jake Gardiner was playing exceptional hockey (Morgan Reilly was also out around that time). He was carrying the play, generating offence and racking up points. When Zaitsev returned, it seemed to cause both players to struggle.

Gardiner and Zaitsev have been paired throughout the season when both have been in the lineup. It doesn’t look like that pairing is very successful. They have often played minutes versus the other team’s best lines to mixed/terrible results. It may be time for a change.

Though maybe not the greatest idea to increase ice time for Roman Polak, who is best served as a 3rd pairing defenceman, by putting him regularly with Gardiner, it may provide better balance to the defence as for all intents and purposes, Gardiner/Zaitsev are a liability together.

So maybe playing Zaitsev on the 3rd pairing with Travis Dermott may help his game. Dermott has played really well and may be the responsible player, surprising for a rookie, to assist Zaitsev and his confidence.

Zaitsev can still maintain his increased ice time on the PK, but for a regular shift, it may be best served to separate him from Gardiner. This too is actually a lot more to benefit Gardiner as both guys tend to take a lot of chances and couple that with the penchant for giving away the puck, it is not a recipe that will turn out anything good.

This could allow the Leafs to have 3 pairs they can count on, especially in road games where the matchup is harder to get. A lot of times in the playoffs you will find teams go down to 2 parings as teams tend to lose faith in players when push comes to shove. A confident, playing well Zaitsev would be a huge boost to this team as the Leafs D is the team’s Achilles heel.

4. Keep it Going on Special Teams

In the last 5 games the Leafs are 9 for 11 on the Penalty Kill and 7 for 13 on the Power Play. Whatever they’re doing, keep doing it. As we know, playoff series can be won or lost on special teams. Toronto has some good mojo going on right now. Its especially encouraging for the power play since it dropped to around 15th in the league before this recent surge. In fact, they’ve gone 12 of their last 26 with the extra man, a ridiculous 46% success rate.

The top unit of Mitch Marner, JVR, Tyler Bozak, Morgan Reilly and Nazem Kadri have been really good of late. They’ve had to be since the other unit, which is usually led by Matthews is missing their top guy. But even with Matthews, the second unit with Nylander, Marleau, Brown and Gardiner among a mix of other players has not been as effective.

Case in point: Nylander had 30 power play points last season, about half his point total for the year. This year he has just 9 power play points, which makes up around 17 percent of his point total. The fact Matthews has missed 20 games probably hurts that production the most but at the end of the day, there is a definite distinction between the two units and which one has been the best.

However, once Matthews returns, could he spark that second team? He just might and that could be a huge difference maker come playoff time since goals are usually at a premium. So taking advantage of the power plays is so important and if Toronto can throw out 2 superior groups, that could cause their opponents fits.

Speaking of waiting on someone, the Leafs will likely be out of Leo Komarov for another week as he recovers from a lower body injury. This could give them an opportunity to work in another penalty killer into the rotation. Komarov has been coach Mike Babcock’s choice as top PK forward. He is usually out there with Zach Hyman and usually out there if there is a 3 vs 5. Now with him out, there will be a vacancy that needs to be filled. Since his absence though, they haven’t had many penalties to kill off. That is actually a good thing.

But, if and when they do, the likely fill in will be Tomas Plekanec. The veteran centre was the Leafs only deadline acquisition. His experience on the PK will be important should that be needed in the playoffs. More importantly, he gives the Leafs a true centre to take faceoffs when shorthanded, something they haven’t had all year really since Komarov, Hyman, Connor Brown and Kasperi Kapanen have been the main penalty killing forwards.

The PK unit has sat at around 8th overall which is roughly where they were last season as well. Leo has been a big part of the success and so they will need him when the playoffs begin. It has though been nice to see other like rookie Kapanen step up.

Of course you’re only as good as your goalie on the PK, and Andersen has been terrific. That being said, the work that Ron Hainsey has done, leading the NHL in minutes played shorthanded has been not only exceptional, but unexpected. With a returning Zaitsev, and likely Polak being a playoff regular over Connor Carrick, the Leafs will likely rotate 3 D in the hopes of stopping what will be potent power plays they will face with the likes of the Bruins or possibly the Lightning.

5. Stick To The Game Plan

There has been plenty of praise and criticism this year for Coach Babcock. The team is in 6th place overall, they have both special teams in the top 10 and are still, like last season where they snuck up on everyone, scoring at a high pace. But they also had lulls. In October, they were scoring at will. In November and December, it was an absolute chore to score goals and the team looked slow, playing a very safe, risk averse game. Since the beginning of 2018, we’ve seen more of the team last year than the one in the first half of the season.

The game plan hasn’t changed all that much between the two years other than this past November/December. The team succeeds when it plays at a high pace and puts pressure on their opponents using their speed. They have plenty of depth so all 4 forward lines can really press the attack. Plus, they have a real mobile defence who can join the play and attack as well.

That’s going to be how they have to play. They’re not really built to play any other way.

They’re not a shutdown team. A team that can hold a lead and lean on you, wearing teams physically. They won’t play tough and heavy. They simply don’t have that kind of personnel.

They’ll have to do what they do best. Score. Score a lot and do it fast. There should be few if any teams who can skate with the Leafs. If they’re playing that way, teams who want to lean on the Leafs, hit and crash into them, it shouldn’t matter as they should only worry about their play.

The last few games will be a good preparation for any style while working on theirs.

Buffalo (twice) – physical, tough rival
Florida – big first line with big D
Isles – big offence and dangerous PP
Winnipeg – huge, heavy team who are fast too
New Jersey – really fast, skilled
Montreal – could face super tough goalie

Lots of winnable games but the most important thing is to play right and have good habits and few breakdowns. This way they’ll be ready for any playoff opponent.

6. Be Ready For Boston

It seems likely that opponent will first be Boston. A division and Original Six nemesis, this will be one hell of a series. The Bs have a big line with Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak. They have big players who can both score and defend and they can skate. They also have a good goalie in Tukka Rask.

This will be a test. But the Leafs can challenge anyone if they’re up for it.

No one prepares teams like Mike Babcock. If any goalie can get hot, it’s Andersen. And centres like Kadri and Matthews really fear no one. Plus, if they want to, they can shut down and stop just about anyone they want. That’s the key. If they want. Those efforts haven’t been as consistent as they’d like. Maybe it was the brief style change. Maybe it’s the personnel. Maybe it’s inexperience still. Maybe it’s being comfortably in a playoff spot since really early December.

Whatever it is, the team is going to have to get hungry and reach a new level come playoff time. This group is more than capable of doing it. It just may be their last chance together to do so with so many veterans on expiring contracts.

Coach Babcock is a skilled motivator and tactician. He’ll get them ready. But, there’s a sense of some underlying hunger and thirst to win that we haven’t really seen yet, but may bubble to the surface.

That’s the kids. Matthews, Marner and Nylander. They’ll go as far as they and Andersen can take them. They’re young but they’re really competitive. The talk of the road being tough is probably true. But, there’s a real sense this team could do something special this spring. They have 3 weeks to prepare.

Let’s get to work!