The Toronto Maple Leafs are preparing to face the Los Angeles Kings, the best home team in the NHL, seeking to improve their game following a less-than-ideal performance in San Jose. Players like Bobby McMann and Oliver Ekman-Larsson emphasized the importance of solid defensive play and maintaining aggressive puck retrieval. McMann highlighted lessons learned from coach Craig Berube about the significance of playing fast to create offensive opportunities, while also noting the value of player Pontus Holmberg's growing confidence and contributions to the lineup as the team heads into the crucial final stretch of the season.
They are a solid team at home. They have good depth throughout their forwards. They play hard and play well in the offensive zone, sustaining pressure. We are trying to limit their chances and entry game to try to play in their game.
We can clean up our d-zone a little bit by making sure we are assertive and aggressive in trying to kill plays and get the puck back. When the puck is on our stick, we have a lot of success.
The value of playing fast and trying to catch teams before they are ready to set up. That is one of the things that we adjusted earlier in the season- playing fast and up the ice, realizing that a lot of offensive opportunity comes from that.
Overall, it is about defending. When we are defending well, we create a lot of chances going the other way. We just need to get back to that mindset.
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