OverDrive - Masters on the Maple Leafs' comeback win, Tanev's injury status and the depth scoring in the spotlight

Episode Date: February 26, 2025

TSN Maple Leafs Reporter Mark Masters joined OverDrive to discuss the headlines around the Maple Leafs, the win against the Bruins, the comeback in the game, Chris Tanev's injury status for the team, the depth scoring in the spotlight, Auston Matthews' performance and more.

Lights camera action the 2025 Juno Awards are hitting Vancouver on March 30th and IHAR radio is your ticket to the stars Hosted and performance by Michael Pooble Plus a final performance by Canadian Music Hall of Fame inductees some 41 and more you can win an IHAR radio Experience with tickets flights and a three-night stay at the Fairmont Hotel, Vancouver Here's Mark Masters, our TSN Maple Leaf reporter. How much relief, Mark, around the Leafs today with this positive update on Chris Tanev? Yeah, I mean, I guess some relief. I don't, you know, it's hard to gauge on these injury updates. Obviously day-to-day sounds encouraging.

We've certainly seen some day-to-day injuries turn into longer-term injuries, but Barube says it's good news. We know they're going to be without Chris Tanev on Friday at least. So his teammates didn't seem too keen on playing without him. I'll say that. on friday at least uh... so if you make them seem to have to keep on playing without about the outfit that but yeah uh... all things considered when you when you watch a walk out of the building with a sling

uh... in his right arm in a sling last night certainly uh... it's it's positive to hear it's day to day and and they see it in prove a secret that it is right that is a good point correct me if they ask did positive in the past and guys have missed a fair amount of time. So that is worthy of noting, but it doesn't sound as if Tana is going to have surgery or anything like that. No.

Be out long term. I think there was some concern. As he left the ice last night, that could be the case. I know Nylander didn't practice. Was there any update on Willie and what's going on with him? Yeah, it's a bit mysterious uh... he apparently was going to get this practice up anyway him matthews marter they were never going to hit the ice today it's part of

the the plan to try and get a little extra red coming up before nations uh... perot a happy you know what happened to the letter to get flashed what what exactly happened we know he was looking down at his wrist or hand or whatever, but you know if you can, he's going to be out there in three-on-three overtime. That really suits his game and his skating ability and he's been a good finisher in the past. You knew it had to be at least somewhat serious to keep him out of that situation, but Borube said it's more of a maintenance day for him today

uh... the lender you know historically I I understand what happened in the playoffs last year but that was more of a kind of fluke one-off he's been really durable are really reliable for this team over there he doesn't really miss time usually plays in almost every game so they don't seem particularly worried about that although it is a bit of a mystery exactly what happened. Masters, at what score last night did you quickly start preparing your loss massacre TD garden type stuff?

Was it one nothing, two nothing, three nothing? When were you fully getting involved in writing of the debauchery that was going on out there? Or did you kind of wait to see what was going to happen? I was not waiting to see what was gonna happen. First shift, the Pasternak breakaway that goes right through your your shutdown pair and then then Tanev leaves with his arm dangling there and it's starting to feel like a lot of the bad Boston experiences over the years. So good on this team for finding a way and perhaps a sign that maybe this group is going to be different, that they were able to dig their way out because it was looking pretty bad there.

And I was totally, my mind was gearing towards what I'm going to ask these guys afterwards and what sort of context to put a loss like this in considering they had won a few games. Yeah, that was quite the turnaround. I did not see that coming last night because it did not look like they had it at all. Was there a turning point for you where you could save? Obviously, getting down 3-0 is not ideal, but was it a goal, a hit, a change, or just slowly change in momentum? Well I thought one turning point was Stolar's making those seeds at

the end of the first period on geeky day. I mean that goes in it's game over it feels like and Ryle, Morgan Ryley pointed out that when that happens right at the end of the period that definitely gets everyone's attention even more so going into the dressing room to say enough is enough. So Anthony Stolar, I know four goes in, go in the net, but I thought he was a huge part of them even having a chance to come back in that game. The Riley goal at the end of the second period

where it still felt like they were not really in it, and then the Marner goal early in the third. Oh, there was a bunch of turning points, but those moments. And then you get the second six on five unit gets the goal to tie it after the big guys are exhausted and come off and you get Nick Robertson and Pontus Holmberg pulling off a magical play. I mean a lot of turning points last night.

They needed a lot of things to happen to get them back in that game and to get those two points and really a remarkable win for the team. With Mark Masters who's in Boston with the Leafs, at the Rangers on Friday night. That was the amazing thing, that secondary six on five unit, you never see that. It's Pontus Holmberg out there driving the lane. Hey, he's had a good little stretch. He's had a really good stretch. So is Robertson.

Robertson scored again last night and those are two guys marked that i i don't they need to be told yours you're fighting for your playoff lives thank you you two are not guaranteed to be in the lineup you gotta when yard croak returns if they make an acquisition at the trade deadline

uh... do you get the impression like robertson and or potters holmberg are kind of understanding of that and if so might you equate this kind of hot second half start to the idea that they're fighting for their lives come playoff time yeah i think obviously they understand that to a degree i think robertson more

so than holberg who's been uh... who's who's earned more trust it feels like with brew bay on the defensive side and he's in the top six right now at the bar at the d lander right how many chances that we've seen for robertson up in the top six it feels like just kind of stuck in that that that third line spot and we know the third line is just not really worked this season

uh... robertson is spoken about how much he's energized over the break. He went down to Florida with his big brother Jason Robertson. They had a good workout. They were on the ice quite a bit. He spoke last night about how he needs to be more physical. He needs to play a bit more physical in his game. That's what the coaches have been asking him to do. And Barubei described it as more of a tenacious style today. That's what he wants to see. And he also said that Robertson can earn some more ice time here if he keeps going the way he's going. We saw him sticking his stick in there on Jeremy Swain and getting him upset, doing a stick lift on David Pasternak and airmailing Pasternak, sticking into the

crowd and jawing at guys and doing some stuff that we haven't always seen from Nick Robertson. And we were talking to Seymour Benoit today and he was loving it he was saying he told Robertson when I get hit by smaller guys and Robertson's five-foot-nine it goes right in my ribs cage and it almost hurts more than the bigger guys so they're really pushing Robertson to be a bit more tenacious he seems to have understood that and it's resulting in some some great plays here in terms of Holmberg good william neil and by the way you know kind of

gets in those two empty net goals coming out of the break in given some juice you know john to bars with a when you you see those guys scoring it you know goes to their legs it makes them feel better feel make them feel more involved so give me landers some credit for helping his buddy is countrymen get on the board early after the break and both guys feel like they got a lot more confidence right now. With Mark Masters. Mark, what are you seeing from Auston Matthews up close and personal

in his kind of how he looks on the ice, how he sounds and feels and looks off the ice? Yeah, I mean, I've been thinking about this a lot because I've covered him obviously. We've all been tracking him his entire career and there's just not a lot of moments like this where what is it now 12 straight games where he hasn't shot a puck past a goalie, six before the Four Nations, three at the Four Nations and then the three coming out of the break and he I think he's got 12 assists in this stretch so he's still producing and obviously playing important minutes and doing good defensively and doing

a lot of things. The Leafs are winning a lot of games. The US went to the Four Nations final and was in overtime and he did everything but score in that overtime. So I think there's a bit, part of it is definitely a snake-bitten aspect of this where he's hit posts, he's hit a crossbar, it's not falling for him right now. And maybe a bit of the fatigue factor creeping in, the schedule's been absolutely crazy. Like Matthews, Marner, and Nylander are basically gonna be six weeks without being at home at all.

Like they went from Vancouver at the end of the break to Montreal, they had like a quick pit stop, maybe a few hours to do laundry, walk their dogs, and get back on the road to Montreal, and then Boston, back for a night, and then a quick quick game and now they're here on the road for this week. They have one home game, Monday, they'll come home after playing in Pittsburgh on Sunday, play San Jose at home and then immediately to Vegas the next day. So I think there's an element of fatigue.

Obviously Matthews has dealt with physical issues all season it feels like. So I just see it as snake-bitten-ness, maybe a lack of confidence now as a result of that snake-bitten stretch and fatigue and it's all mixing together to have this kind of weird stretch which we haven't really seen since his rookie season where he's gone 12 games without beating a goalie. When you look at these two guys and it will include all three of the big three and now at Nylander too, did you in any quiet moments talking to them, did they talk about their experiences and being a part of that elite hockey and maybe what they took home or they kind of revisited

through their own play during that time? I think Mariner is the guy who's been the most open about that and certainly had the moment that is going to resonate. It feels like the most now Matthews did talk about how he can be motivated by what happened and how it ended and how much he enjoyed the opportunity to wear the C for Team USA and be a part of that group. But Marner is the kind of guy who said right after that game, watching his media session in Boston, talking about how he can carry some momentum. And then the word that really resonated for me is belief that he would take belief out of this after having that special moment in Boston and then in his first media availability when he was back in Toronto he spoke about how positive everyone

was on the bench and in the room even as team Canada went through some tough time in that tournament of course they had to go to overtime against Sweden they lose to the United States in Montreal and then they're trailing in that championship game. And he spoke about how maybe that's something he can bring back to Toronto for when the Leafs get into some tense nervous times, because we've heard it gets quiet around the team and the stress level is there. So he's the one who's spoken out most about it. And that's probably the most encouraging thing for the Leafs is that he now has that data point and that experience that he can reach into and find when things get a little stressful and tense on the playoffs because we know it hasn't gone his way in the way of the team in a lot

of those moments in his time in Toronto. Big time. Big time. There's nothing but positivity the last couple of weeks coming out of Mitch Marner as you would expect. He should feel good about himself and where his games that where his teams at what happened with canada last week uh... great catch up with you mark safe travels with the answer

yeah on the road now from boston to the art maybe dinner at heart for uh... any any any dinner spots in part for dot why would you be going to hard for dude you're driving it's a ever driving where we're doing the drive deletion are expected to be off tomorrow and we we wanted to control a departure so we're driving harper's got a break between and obviously the whalers you know i don't know where to get hook them up on

his the place to be in hard for a month you're the guy let us come mister hartford masters i gotta be honest recommend some places either probably still not there like a lot of their and even if they were you would probably walk right out as soon as you walked in i like that that might take steve directly but okay i would i wouldn't count on it being that good.

Nothing on the record. Nothing on the record. Alright, well let us know man. Try Kahootz, okay? Try Kahootz in hard form. Kahootz. I think I got an idea what that place is like. Kahootz is dynamite.

Alright, shout out. Give it a shot. Putting it into the GPS now. Thank you. All right, pal. Thank you, Mark. Enjoy that. Here's Mark Masters.

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