'He Doesn't Have To Complicate The Game': How Bobby McMann Turned A Healthy Scratch Into Three Goals In As Many Games With Maple Leafs
Max Pacioretty was a healthy scratch for the Maple Leafs in the team's 6-2 win over the Kings on Wednesday.
When Bobby McMann was scratched in the Maple Leafs' season opener, he trusted an opportunity would come. And that it did.
After a healthy summer, McMann didn't have the strongest training camp. He and Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube knew more work was needed.
"There's more there. I know that. Bobby knows that," Berube said two days before the season-opening game in Montreal.
McMann returned to the lineup when Toronto took on the New Jersey Devils — in game two of the season, which was the second half of a back-to-back — and found the back of the net.
He filled the net again on Wednesday night against the LA Kings with two more goals. The forward is now up to three goals in three games this season.
"He just looks hungry out there and he's making plays, making good on his opportunities," Auston Matthew said on Wednesday night. "He's an easy guy to play with. He works extremely hard on both ends of the puck. It's great to see him get rewarded."
This isn't the first time McMann has been scratched before coming hot out of the gate. The forward was set to be a healthy scratch against the St. Louis Blues on Feb. 13 until John Tavares had to remove himself from the lineup due to an ailment.
McMann scored his first-career hat trick in the NHL in that game and performed in an almost exact fashion against the Kings on Wednesday.
"Just trusting that it's part of the process and it's part of the game," he said of how he reacted to the scratch in the season-opener.
"There's guys that are playing well, there's a lot of good players on this team, and maybe some guys fit better in certain scenarios than others and just knowing that my opportunity would come."
Although it might feel like McMann's production has dipped, it hasn't since before his first scratch last season. McMann has 15 goals in his last 33 games, which, if you were to put that into an 82-game pace, would be 40 goals in a season.
He plays a strong game that fits Berube's style of play. And if McMann continues to play hard and find the back of the net, it'll be difficult for the Maple Leafs head coach to justify taking him back out of the lineup.
"Well, he's got speed, Bobby, and he finished tonight, which was good to see. But he's a power forward. That's how he should think the game night in and night out is being a power forward with his skating and his size," Berube said.
"He doesn't have to complicate the game. He's going straight lines and bang bodies and get to the net and score goals around the net."
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