Spezza's speech sets table for Leafs core to get over playoff hump

SPORTSCENTRE Reporter

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TSN Toronto Reporter Mark Masters reports on the Maple Leafs, who held a team meeting at Ford Performance Centre on Wednesday before flying to Tampa ahead of Thursday’s Game 6 matchup. 

With the Leafs trailing the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-0 after a lacklustre first period in Game 5 on Tuesday night, Jason Spezza spoke up in the dressing room. 

"Just felt like it was needed at the time and just speaking from the heart," the 38-year-old forward said. 

Spezza, who was playing in his 95th Stanley Cup playoff game, didn't want to reveal what specifically he said, but there's no doubt it resonated. 

"He let us know what we needed to do," said winger Michael Bunting, "and then he was also very positive and talked about the group we had in here. It was a great speech and got us all going."

"We talked in between periods about digging in and needing more," said centre John Tavares. "Less about the Xs and Os and more about finding another level ... Spezz really spoke well and I think everyone, as a group, understood that as each game passes by the margin for error gets smaller and smaller."

The Leafs roared back, eventually winning 4-3 to take a 3-2 series lead in the best-of-seven first-round affair. 

"Loved the response," said Spezza, who is seeking his first Stanley Cup ring while playing in his 19th NHL season. "There was great desperation from our group. We recognized the situation we were in and had a good pushback."

Spezza's speech was only the latest passion play by the savvy veteran. In the 2020 bubble series against the Columbus Blue Jackets, Spezza dropped the gloves with Dean Kukan in Game 4 before Toronto rallied from 3-0 down to extend the series. Last year in the series against