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Matt Frattin will have to hit or sit.
That was the message coach Randy Carlyle communicated in a couple of different ways on Friday as he looks for offence to replace Joffrey Lupul in the next few days. When naming players who would have to step up, Carlyle brought up Frattin, who was lumped in with five players in green practice sweaters, two of which will not dress Saturday against New Jersey.
?We need Matt to get going,? Carlyle said of the winger?s 11-game scoreless skid.
Expanding on the 25-year-old?s report card, Carlyle said the physical aspect he brought to the Leafs through a successful stint with the Marlies has not been as pronounced of late. Frattin was called up three games into the NHL season ? when Lupul was first injured with a broken arm ? and produced 10 points in as many games. But with the flare-up of a bothersome knee, that underwent major off-season surgery, he has now gone 11 without a goal and was a healthy scratch once.
?If (his approach) is not physical, then his involvement in the game goes down,? Carlyle said, echoing past Leaf coaches and GMs. ?So we?d like to see him stay on the body. I just think with his all-round game right now ... he?s in-between in a lot of situations. He should be jumping through a hole and he?s not and the next time he does try it, it closes off.?
Carlyle said the staff would break down the winger?s game in the video room to lend him assistance, but it?s not clear if that means a game or two in the press box. With the first three lines looking set as Clarke MacArthur and Leo Komarov return from injury on Saturday, Frattin would either have to play ahead of the two enforcers, Colton Orr and Frazer McLaren, or Marlie callups Ryan Hamilton or Joe Colborne. Hamilton has endeared himself to the coaches for his work ethic and rather than send Colborne on the Marlies? East Coast road trip this weekend, Carlyle brought the kid to Jersey.
Frattin insisted he knew how to correct his recent deficiencies.
?Consistency is probably the biggest thing to maintaining yourself in this league and it?s what you have to work on,? he said. ?I have to keep my legs moving, don?t turn the puck over and play physical.?
And not run around hitting people for the sake of it, of course.
?I?ve played a few games in the league (78), so I know that,? Frattin said. ?You have to know when to hit and when to get your body in the way and slow them up. That?s how you wear down teams.?
Carlyle says it?s a lesson that wil be hammered home to the Leafs by the coaches and the Leaf opposition in the final 11 games.
?It?s a physical game and they?re going to get more physical as we go into the stretch. Playoff-type hockey is what we?re going to be presented with.?
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Source: http://www.torontosun.com/2013/04/05/maple-leafs-coach-wants-more-from-frattin
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