Craig Berube Sends Message to Travis Green Ahead of Game 3 as Matchup Battle Heats Up

With the Maple Leafs headed into Game Three and right into enemy territory, they won't have the luxury of being able to have the last laugh at least when it comes to line changes, as now it's Ottawa's turn to reap the benefits of being at home.

It's an advantage that doesn't look too important at face value but can be a huge part of a team's strategy, especially with the playoffs being a whole different beast. Craig Berube certainly took advantage of it, but so too did Travis Green in a sense.

The Ottawa coach tried to find ways to maneuver around the restrictions and try to get the best matchup possible, and Berube noticed, and warned to Green ahead of time that two can both play the same game:

Mind games are as important as the physical game when it comes to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and trying to find every bit of an advantage you can will be the difference between a swift exit or not.

We saw that with Toronto targeting Ridly Greig all night in Game Two, and helping him find some new equipment in Game One, and if the Maple Leafs aren't going to have the advantage when it comes to the line changes, they are going to need to find other ways to gain a leg up on their provincial rivals.

Perhaps Green might want to do a bit of lineup shuffling himself, as the Senators haven't really found anything offensively and have been outscored 9-4 so far. Linus Ullmark can only do so much, and the big name players like Dylan Cozens and Claude Giroux haven't stepped up their performance.

Getting in front of their home crowd will certainly help things at least in Ottawa's mind.

They will certainly have an additional player all night as the fans will dictate a lot of the pressure both teams will receive (Toronto for being the enemy, Ottawa for needing to win) and it could make things much more interesting in Game Four and beyond.

But we need to get through Game Three first, and while Toronto has been bang average over their last few Game Threes (two wins, two losses) and it feels like this is the game that if they win, will get them over the hump and solidify themselves for a second round appearance.

Even if Toronto can't get the last line change, you best believe they are going to find other ways to take control of the game; restrictions be damned.