Captain Tavares is not concerned about playing a smaller role with the Maple Leafs.
A smart captain should understand how each deck on the ship performs its battle station duties.
So, John Tavares got straight into his apparent relegation to the third line, hoping to get to know “Robby” (Nick Robertson) and “Bobby” (McMann) better while also adjusting to losing his spot on the top power-play unit.
Coach Sheldon Keefe’s decisions have been easier for 1,000-point, 1,000-game Tavares to swallow, knowing Max Domi has been a nice fit in his center spot with Tyler Bertuzzi on the new-look second line, and Bertuzzi scored two of his three goals Saturday on the power play.
“You want to do everything you can to help the team, so be prepared when your name is called,” Tavares said Monday after practice. “(As a third-liner), your goal is to create opportunities, build momentum, play in the offensive zone, and finish on those chances.
It’s been a wonderful week for me, Robby, and Bobby, and we want to improve.”
Tavares agreed with Keefe’s argument that something else needed to be tried to re-energize Bertuzzi and William Nylander, which meant boosting Domi’s role at center. Tavares’ scoring numbers had also fallen.
“It’s what (Keefe) felt was necessary, and you only control what you can,” Tavares added. “We have a really powerful club, and our goal is to win and do something extraordinary. You simply want to contribute to that.”
Keefe described Tavares as someone who “gets it,” after explaining why he was making the decision.
“It gave us some different looks and John is all about the team,” he remarked.
Tavares had a tough conclusion to the game in Denver, where he had a golden chance at an empty net but failed to shoot, while Ilya Samsonov had to save the dangerous Nathan MacKinnon at the last second. Tavares claimed the puck took an unusual bounce on him.
“Not the ideal situation when you’re looking to seal it,” he went on to say. “And all of their guys go the opposite way. “But Sammy did an excellent job.”
