Laughton, Maple Leafs forwards set to step up in going with five D-men

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Scott Laughton once played a whole game on defence.

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It was with the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey League, and the Maple Leafs forward recalled that it was in Brampton against the Battalion before the club pulled up stakes and moved to North Bay.

The Gens were short, Laughton said, as several regulars were playing in the world junior championship.

If Laughton needs to fall back on that long-ago experience on Saturday night against the Montreal Canadiens, he’s willing to step up.

“I’m ready on the left side,” Laughton said on Saturday morning. “Hard rims only. It’s tough back there. I have a lot of respect for those guys, with guys coming on the forecheck on you. Guys like Tanny (Chris Tanev) who goes back and is pretty fearless, doesn’t worry about getting hit or anything, makes the next play.”

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In going with five defencemen against the Canadiens in the wake of injuries to Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Jake McCabe — coupled with no space under the salary cap — the Leafs are hopeful that they won’t have to resort to using a forward on the blue line. Mitch Marner has taken shifts at defence in the past, but it’s not ideal to have your best winger in that spot at five-on-five, no matter his ability to handle that responsibility.

It’s going to be on the shoulders of the Leafs forwards to be squarely on point on Saturday night as Toronto looks to clinch home ice in at least the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. A win in regulation would do that.

“Our forwards are going to have to work tonight,” Leafs coach Craig Berube said. “They have to do a good job of helping out, get hold ups and killing plays in a neutral zone and killing plays out of the offensive zone, and not allowing Montreal to gain our zone as much.”

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Steven Lorentz said he would be comfortable if he had to take a shift or two on defence. It sounded like the winger was the target of a few Laughton chirps on Saturday morning when the team was discussing its options.

“Laughty likes to remind me he ran the power play in junior against my (Peterborough) Petes (during the 2013-14 season), and he did pretty well against us,” Lorentz said. “I try to forget about that stuff, because they lit us up pretty good.

“I’ve played some D in my career over the years, filling in at times.”

Speaking of defencemen, Berube spoke glowingly of Canadiens rookie Lane Hutson, who is among the favourites to win the Calder Trophy.

“Hutson, he’s an elite player back there,” Berube said. “He’s hard to handle. He drives a lot of their offence, and he’s so good with the puck, at transporting it up the ice and doing things in the offensive zone that you normally don’t see. He’s a very elusive player.”

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Anthony Stolarz will start in goal for the Leafs, meaning Joseph Woll is bound to get the start on Sunday in Carolina against the Hurricanes. Once the Leafs have played one man short, as they will against Montreal, they will have the option of recalling a defenceman on an emergency basis from the Toronto Marlies. Of note, perhaps, defenceman Dakota Mermis was scratched for the Marlies’ game in Cleveland on Saturday afternoon.

McCabe, who has missed the past three games with an undisclosed injury, took part in the Leafs optional on Saturday morning. Ekman-Larsson, hurt against Tampa Bay on Wednesday, did not.

Jakub Dobes will start in goal for the Canadiens.

tkoshan@postmedia.com

X: @koshtorontosun

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