Leafs' Lorentz: 'It's our job' to keep Canadiens out of playoff spot
Steven Lorentz doesn't want to see the Montreal Canadiens clinch a playoff spot on the Toronto Maple Leafs' watch Saturday night.
"I know people want to see another Canadian team in the playoffs, but we don't care about another Canadian team in the playoffs," the Maple Leafs forward said, according to Sportsnet's Luke Fox. "We care about our team, and that's it. ... It's our job to not let that happen."
Montreal is six points clear in the Eastern Conference's second wild-card spot and can book its ticket to the playoffs with a win versus Toronto on Saturday. The Canadiens had a chance to secure a postseason berth Friday but lost 5-2 against the Ottawa Senators.
Leafs head coach Craig Berube doesn't think the Canadiens playing a back-to-back will impact their play.
"Throw that out the window," Berube said, according to the Toronto Sun's Terry Koshan. "That's not going to matter because they're going to come. They're going to be excited to play us here. They always are. They give us a tough game every time we play them. I expect the same."
The Maple Leafs will play only five defensemen against the Canadiens, with Jake McCabe and Oliver Ekman-Larsson unavailable due to injuries. Toronto can't recall a blue-liner from the AHL because of cap restraints.
Montreal top prospect Ivan Demidov won't debut Saturday.