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Maple Leafs Will Need Push of Tavares Round 2 Return to Win Game 7

The Toronto Maple Leafs don’t have a good record in close-out games but they might have the motivation of a John Tavares return in Round 2.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are not a good team when it comes to closing out elimination games. After falling to bounce the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday in Game 6 and losing 3-2 in overtime at the Bell Centre, the Leafs now have to head back home and do something they’ve proven they’re not terribly adept at: finish off a team while they have them on the ropes.

The Maple Leafs lost their seventh-straight series clincher, which now ties them for the second-longest streak in NHL history. That’s not something the team wants to have in the back of their minds while taking on a Canadiens team that seems to have most of the momentum now. If the Leafs lose, there are bound to be changes. Rumors will swirl that personnel will be changed, perhaps both on the roster and in management.

This is a team that went all in to get farther into the postseason than they’ve gotten in the past. They’re taking on the fourth seed in the North Division and the expectation was that they would win. The Leafs could use a spark and what better motivation to play well than the return of forward John Tavares?

Related: Maple Leafs’ Alex Galchenyuk’s Down, Up, and Down Playoff Series

Head coach Sheldon Keefe said, “I don’t think pressure is an issue here. I think it’s just a matter of playing a hockey game where we’ve got to elevate our play.” Maybe the Leafs need to put a little positive pressure on themselves. After all, there’s a difference between playing like a team that doesn’t want to lose or go home versus playing like a team who has a reason to win and get their captain back in the lineup.

Tavares Won’t Be Back In First Round

Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston provided an update on the injury status of Tavares and while that he was skating, didn’t travel with the team to Montreal and was back in Toronto doing rehab, there were some who wondered if he could be gearing up to play Game 7, should there be one. Now that there will be, is it possible he makes a return?

The answer is probably no.

Johnston notes that the Leafs are going to take Tavares’ concussion injury extremely seriously and that the most likely way he plays again is if the Leafs make it into the second round. In other words, if Toronto doesn’t beat Montreal , they’ll be ending the season for a player who has a chance to returning and helping them out.

John Tavares Maple Leafs NHL

Obviously, if the Leafs lose, everyone’s season is over on that roster, so there should be enough reason to get motivated for that game. Still, if the team feels like they’re playing for a chance to get him back in and on the ice versus the Winnipeg Jets, you’d think that would encourage the team to get off to a strong start.

If someone doesn’t speak up in that locker room ahead of Game 7 and say, ‘Let’s win this one for our captain’, all that leadership and experience the Leafs added ahead of the season will have been for nothing.

Next: NHL Insider Says Oilers, Nugent-Hopkins Negotiations Have Gone Sideways

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