Flames, Leafs aim to ‘start on time’ Glen Gulutzan and Mike Babcock both identify the first 20 minutes on Wednesday as a key to victory, Kristen Shilton writes.

Kristen Shilton TSN Toronto Maple Leafs Reporter Follow|Archive

TORONTO - To truly appreciate the difference in mindsets between the Maple Leafs and Calgary Flames, look no further than two of their brightest young stars.

Eight days after Toronto beat Calgary 4-1 on their turf, Leafs’ centre Auston Matthews was relaxed ahead of Wednesday night’s re-match. Joking easily about his former U.S. National Team Development Program linemate (and Flames “pest”) Matthew Tkachuk, Matthews looked as loose as the Leafs have played over their recent run, winning three of their last five games.

Tkachuk, on the other hand, was all business. Calgary limped into town after a four-game homestand that produced one win, leaving Tkachuk in no mood to quip about his old friend – or speak to him at all.

“Radio silence,” Matthews said with a smile Wednesday when asked if they’d texted. “I think they got in late last night so I haven’t talked to him much. He doesn’t like to lose, so he’ll be ready to play tonight.”

Last Tuesday’s game against the Flames was an important victory for the Leafs, one they've tried to build on. At the time, Toronto had lost three of its previous four games, thanks in large part to repeated poor starts. In Calgary, the Leafs jumped out to a lead they’d never relinquish in the first period and outshot the Flames 23-15 over the first two periods.

Given the final score, it’s no surprise both Glen Gulutzan and Mike Babcock identified the first 20 minutes on Wednesday as a key to victory.

“We started on time [against Calgary]. Got the lead, makes it easier for you,” said Babcock. “When you’re chasing the game and you’re pressing, makes it harder to score. We had an opportunity in Vancouver [in Saturday’s 2-1 loss] but we got behind, we were chasing. You say you played well, but what happened in the first period? So start on time in the National League, you have a much better chance.”

The Leafs have played just two home games in the last 16 days, and Wednesday’s game is one of only three home contests in all of December. In their limited engagements, the confines of Air Canada Centre haven’t been so friendly – the Leafs lost their last two games in Toronto by a combined score of 8-3.

Matthews doesn’t see the Leafs’ recent success against the Flames as any great advantage in helping them turn the tide at home (“We’ve seen them, they’ve seen us. It goes both ways.”). But Matthews admits there's a pride and confidence the Leafs take these days in making their building a tougher one to play in.

“We expect to win every night. That probably wasn’t the case a couple years ago,” he said. “Teams come into our arena, they want to beat us and we know what to expect because we’ve gotten better every day, gotten better since last year. So it’s definitely a little bit of a mindset for the opposing team coming in here.”

Aiding Calgary’s mood amid the recent struggles is the excitement of playing in “the centre of the hockey universe.” The Flames boast nine players who hail from somewhere within 300 kilometres of Toronto, and Gulutzan joked that between them all, “about 150” Flames’ friends and family will populate the ACC crowd.

"Kids grew up wanting to play in this building – play against the Leafs or play for the Leafs," said Johnny Gaudreau. "It’s an exciting game for us.”

“We’ll have some fun tonight,” added Toronto native Mark Giordano. “I think in big games like this, there’s that nervousness at the start that you have to get out of your game quick. On your first shift, get a hit or something and then get on and play.”

Whether Calgary can translate it’s enthusiasm into a victory will depend on how well they rattle the Leafs. Despite Saturday's loss, the swagger Toronto lost earlier this season has made a noticeable return.

“It’s pretty loose [right now]. That’s the way we want it,” Matthews said. “We’re focused when it comes to game day and what we need to do. Big game for us tonight, but I think when we stay loose we play better instead of everyone being uptight. Things have gone pretty well for us of late. We don’t want to let that slip away.”

Morning skate notes

- Patrick Marleau has already hit a number of milestones this season. On deck: The next point he tallies will be the 1,100th of his illustrious career.

- While Tkachuk wasn’t too chatty about Matthews, his talkativeness on the ice is known to get under an opponent’s skin. While he has a long-standing friendship with Tkachuk, Matthews says so far he hasn’t been a target of Tkachuk’s peskiness. “I’m waiting for it every time I’m out there against him. Maybe we’ll see it tonight,” Matthews said. “He’s never given me too much crap after the whistle or too much stuff he likes to throw at guys.”

- Andreas Borgman is the lone rookie on the Leafs roster this season, and has played every game of the campaign so far. His defence partner has rotated between Connor Carrick and Roman Polak. Having Polak by his side these last four games hasn’t been sitting well with fans, but Borgman sees no reason to stress over their pairing. “I think we play pretty good. We talk a lot,” he said. “He’s great using his body and gets in the corner and takes people down. It feels like I can get more offence with him and I like that.” Of course, Borgman says he enjoys skating with Carrick too (“He’s harder to play against than you think”) and since he has no say in the decision, he tries to heed Babcock’s coaching on how to be a better player no matter who is out there with him. “When he gets into trouble, he has too much time and he gets thinking out there,” said Babcock. “When he plays fast, he’s fine. His game is going to evolve over time…But I think he’s doing a real nice job for us.”​