Motivated Maple Leafs play with purpose in final month of regular season

The Toronto Maple Leafs are dead last in the NHL but you wouldn’t have been able to tell by the way they played on Tuesday against the playoff-bound Tampa Bay Lightning.

They had intensity, they were driven and stayed committed to their structure in defeating a very good hockey team by a score of 4-1 at Air Canada Centre.

It was about a year ago that the team was in the midst of a free fall from a playoff spot they held in early January.  Right around this time they would be swept on their Western Canadian road trip and proceed to look even more hopeless in their final 11 games of the season, winning just three times.

Interim head coach Peter Horachek attempted to motivate his club by framing the final seven games as a playoff series, but they fell a game short, losing in a shootout to the Montreal Canadiens in their season finale.

These types of tactics are not needed this time around.

The current roster made up of hopeful rookies, journeymen of varying ages and a handful of veterans held over from last season (who remain healthy enough to be in the lineup) seem to be getting the message.

“You have to work,” said Ben Smith, who scored the eventual game winning goal at 9:07 of the third period.  “No matter where you are, with the puck, without the puck, you have to work.  I love that as a player because that’s one of the things I want to bring every day is my work ethic.  As I said all along, show what I can do and prove that I can play”

Smith, a 27-year-old playing for his third team in six NHL seasons, netted his first goal of 2015-16 and first as a Maple Leaf with a lunch-pail working man's effort, driving to the net and shoveling in Michael Grabner’s rebound after the Lightning had tied it just under three minutes earlier.

The Maple Leafs have now earned a point in four of their past five games and with their win against the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday, have knocked off two teams currently in a playoff position after four consecutive one goal losses in regulation time.

“It feels good,” said Smith, who is an upcoming free agent.  “Every game is an opportunity for us individually to prove ourselves and also for our team to come together and build some confidence winning games.”

Smith scored a career-high 14 goals and added 12 assists in 75 games with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2013-14.  After playing 61 games the following campaign, he was traded to the San Jose Sharks where played 25 more over two seasons before being picked up by the Maple Leafs on Feb 27. for goalie James Reimer and forward Jeremy Morin.

Only eight players were in the lineup from the first meeting between the Maple Leafs and Lightning on Dec. 15.

The last time they tangled was on Feb. 29.

Connor Carrick made his Maple Leafs debut in the 2-1 loss that night.  Less than 24 hours earlier, prior to being acquired along with Brooks Laich and a second-round pick from the Washington Capitals in a late-night deal for Daniel Winnik and a fifth-round pick, he was playing with their AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears.  Carrick arrived at the rink just a couple hours before puck drop.

On Tuesday the 21-year-old defenceman netted his first goal of the season to open the scoring.  It was also his first NHL goal in a very, very long time. After cracking the Capitals roster to start the 2013-14 season,  Carrick scored in his second NHL game against the Calgary Flames.  On Tuesday he gloved down Peter Holland’s rebound and swatted a bouncing puck past Andrei Vasilevskiy at 13:34 of the second period.

“You pray,” he said of his nearly three-year span between goals.  “It keeps you up at night.”

With the Caps blueline depth, Carrick only played 34 games in 2013-14 and spent the entire following season with Hershey.  This season he played three games before being traded. With the departure of  Dion Phaneuf and Roman Polak and Matt Hunwick out with season ending sports hernia surgery, Carrick has a clearcut audition on the blueline going forward.

“I want him to be able to earn some minutes and get on the ice,” said Babcock.  “So the way you do that first is you make sure it doesn’t go in your net and then if you got some offensive flair, that’s going to show on the offensive blueline…you got to get comfortable and good enough that your skill set comes out in the game.”

Seizing opportunity, whether it is for a chance to play in Toronto or elsewhere has been part of Babcock’s message track all season.  Tuesday was a good example of how it has been working and why unlike a year ago, the Leafs approach to the finish line isn't expected to end with a whimper.

Follow Neil Acharya on Twitter: @Neil_Acharya.