Why Ryan O’Reilly is the key to the Leafs beating the Lightning

If the Maple Leafs end up beating the Tampa Bay Lightning — and I’m calling Toronto in six games — I think we’ll be talking a lot about Ryan O’Reilly and his impact on the series.

Yeah, the Leafs are not going to win a round — much less win a Stanley Cup — unless Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner are their very best.

That’s obvious. The same goes with Ilya Samsonov.

But a guy like O’Reilly, who has won a Cup and who has won a playoff MVP, can be a game changer. An X-Factor.

That’s why the Leafs got him. Not for the regular season, where he was just ok. But for the playoffs. After all, he looks like a guy who was built for the playoffs. He’s already got the beard. And the missing tooth.

And apparently, he’s already got a promotion.

Based on the practice lines, O’Reilly will start Game 1 centering a line with John Tavares and William Nylander.

We’ll see if it sticks. But whether he’s playing down the middle or on the wing in the top-six or centering a shut-down line, O’Reilly is going to play an important role for the Leafs. That goes for on and off the ice, where after a couple of months since being traded, he is finally feeling more comfortable to be a voice in the dressing room.

“It definitely takes a long time to get that feel,” O’Reilly said on the day before Game 1. “I didn’t want just start come barking right away. I’m comfortable being a voice if I need to and leading the way. Everyone leads in their own way. For myself, I try to lead by example.”

If he can do that, Toronto should be able to finally advance to the second round.

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TRAIK IT OR LEAVE IT

John Tavares has opened up his house to Matthew Knies, who will be staying in Tavares’ basement during the Leafs’ playoff run. For Tavares, who was once roomed with Doug Weight as a rookie with the New York Islanders, it’s a chance to pay it forward. “It’s come full circle for me,” said the Leafs captain. “I learned so much just being around (Weight). It’s very eye-opening being a teenager coming into the league and seeing the differences from junior hockey, or in (Knies’) case college hockey. I’ve been really impressed with how he’s kind of transitioned to kind of the pro locker room and what the lifestyle is like. It’s not easy.”

AND ANOTHER THING

The line-juggling that head coach Sheldon Keefe experimented with down the stretch may have led to some confusion and lack of chemistry for some of the players. But there was apparently a method to the madness. Against Tampa Bay, the Leafs have a number of different lineup options that they can roll out, depending on the situation. “It’s added a lot of flexibility and different looks we can put together and combinations,” said Tavares. “I really think that you look down the list for things that you want in a lineup, we check off pretty much every box” … Tavares is a natural centre, but he’s played wing at times during his career. The most recent? “At the World Cup I was on the wing with (Ryan) Getzlaf and (Steven) Stamkos,” he said. The longest he spent on the wing? “In Bern (Switzerland) during the lockout.” In other words, don’t be surprised if Tavares ends up playing more centre than wing during these playoffs.

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