Bozak credits off-ice bonding for strong effort vs. Lightning
Maybe a few extracurriculars aren't such a bad idea, after all.
Following one of the club's most dismal displays of the season on Tuesday night against Florida, the Toronto Maple Leafs rebounded in a big way on Thursday, cruising to a 5-0 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The team received a lot of backlash after Tuesday's 7-2 shelling by the Panthers, as photos posted on Instagram showed that players - including Morgan Rielly, Tyler Bozak, Mitch Marner, Leo Komarov, and Josh Leivo - had spent Sunday fishing.
Following Thursday's game, Bozak took joy in hinting that time spent away from the rink was to thank for Toronto's effort vs. the Lightning.
"We had a lot of energy," Bozak said with a smile, according to TSN's Mark Masters. "Whenever you have a few days to bond, do some stuff outside the rink it helps. It helped us tonight."
Bozak's answer on team bonding elicited huge laugh from reporters; "What? What?" he asked. "I don't get it."
— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) March 17, 2017
Never a dull moment with the Maple Leafs.