EDMONTON — When the Toronto Maple Leafs squandered a 3-0 lead against the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday, John Tavares found himself in an unusual spot for much of the third period.
On the bench.
The 33-year-old was limited to 3:18 and three shifts in the final 20 minutes of the team's 5-3 loss to Colorado. A clear message from head coach Sheldon Keefe that the captain's play hasn't been good enough.
"You control what you can control and be ready to go out there and execute," Tavares said of Keefe's move on Tuesday at Rogers Place. "In a situation like that, [you're] just trying to be external as well and encouraging your teammates and be supportive and making sure you are ready for when your name is called."
Following Saturday's loss, Keefe moved Tavares further down the line by putting him on a line with Tyler Bertuzzi and Calle Jarnkrok, marking the first time the player hasn't had a core forward like Mitch Marner or William Nylander on his wing this season in the team's 4-2 loss against the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday.
During Toronto's morning skate, order was restored as Tavares joined Nylander on the second line with Matthew Knies joining the duo on the left wing. Tavares, a consistent point producer in his time with Toronto, has struggled in that category during a recent stretch of games. He doesn't have a single point in four games, matching his longest drought since November of 2019.
"Sometimes maybe pucks aren’t bouncing or going in at the rate you’d like," Tavares said. " Big picture, there’s a lot of things to my game that if you do have an off night you just focus on getting back at it and what’s brought you success."
Keefe is looking for his team to clean things up defensively after a pair of games that saw the Leafs fall behind late in regulation time. And he's hoping Tavares' unfazed nature to being benched will have a spillover effect on the group as a while.
"Just continue to be relied upon in all areas of the game and influence the game the right way for our group," Tavares said. "As the captain you want to set that standard and understand that the details have to be there. J
"Just continue to do good things and good process and over time, things will start to turn your way."
The 33-year-old has 34 points in 41 games this season. If the season were to end today, his 0.83 points per game would be his worst since his rookie season in 2009-10.
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