Babcock uses fans to motivate Maple Leafs for Game 5 against Bruins

TORONTO -- With the Toronto Maple Leafs one loss from elimination in the Eastern Conference First Round, coach Mike Babcock has turned from teacher to preacher.

The Maple Leafs, who trail the Boston Bruins 3-1 in the best-of-7 series, must win Game 5 at TD Garden on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, SN, TVAS) to stay alive.
To drive home that point, Babcock used the passion of the Toronto fan base, not the usual X's and O's, to try to motivate his team Friday.
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Babcock referenced the thousands of fans who gathered in Maple Leaf Square outside Air Canada Centre on Thursday to watch Game 4 on big-screen TVs. He spoke of the fans inside the arena who joined Martina Ortiz-Luis in singing "O Canada" before the game. He spoke of that all going away if the Maple Leafs don't win Game 5.
His message: This is what you mean to this city, to these people. If you want to experience these scenes and sights again, you have to win on Saturday.
"We've got to dig in," Babcock said. "We've got to compete harder, we've got to play better. Dig in and make it go your way. I think you've got to enjoy part of the duress of this time of year. Embrace it."
Easier said than done.
The Bruins dominated in winning Games 1 and 2 in Boston, outscoring the Maple Leafs 12-4. Toronto won 4-2 in Game 3, but Boston rebounded with a 3-1 victory in Game 4.
The Maple Leafs have been here before; they trailed the Bruins 3-1 in the 2013 first round and won Games 5 and 6 before losing Game 7 in overtime.
Forward Nazem Kadri, who will return Saturday following a three-game suspension for boarding in Game 1, is one of five players on the Maple Leafs roster who played in that 2013 series (defenseman Jake Gardiner, forwards Leo Komarov and James van Riemsdyk, and center Tyler Bozak, who was injured for Game 7).

Though the Maple Leafs collapsed in Game 7, blowing a 4-1 lead in the third period, Kadri said the lessons learned from making that game necessary stayed with him.
"Coming back to force a Game 7 in that series taught us that you have to believe," Kadri said. "That's the most important thing. You have to trust in one another. This would definitely make a great story."
Babcock said he has yet to decide if Kadri will go back to his spot on the second line between Mitchell Marner and Patrick Marleau. Tomas Plekanec filled in, getting an assist in Game 3 and scoring in Game 4.
Can Plekanec maintain his level of play if he goes back to the fourth line between Kasperi Kapanen and Andreas Johnsson?
"I asked him that same question," Babcock said. "I said, 'I don't know what I'm doing, but what if I do this? You finally found your game as a Leaf, we need you to be that good.'
"I think he's feeling good about himself and, obviously, it doesn't seem to matter on our group of forwards, we've got good wingers to play with. Kapanen and [Johnsson] are good players."

So are forwards Auston Matthews and William Nylander. Matthews (63 points; 34 goals, 29 assists) and Nylander (61 points; 20 goals, 41 assists) finished second and third in points on Toronto this season behind Mitchell Marner (69 points; 22 goals, 47 assists). But Nylander and Matthews each has one point in the series, coming when Nylander assisted on Matthews' winning goal in the 4-2 victory in Game 3. Linemate Zach Hyman has three points (one goal, two assists).
Matthews said he and Nylander are confident they will regain their regular-season form.
"We just need to stay with it," Matthews said. "We can be better.
"[The Bruins'] whole defensive structure, they've done a pretty good job of keeping us off the net, making it easier for their goalie to make saves. We definitely need to be better as a line.
"This is a time where everybody needs to dig in, down 3-1. There's a lot of belief in this room. We've got to win tomorrow because we want to come back here and play again."
If they do that, several thousand fans will be waiting outside Air Canada Centre in Maple Leaf Square to watch Game 6.
As Babcock asked Matthews and his teammates, "How bad do you want it?"