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鈥淚 don鈥檛 think about the past or the future. I鈥檓 in the moment,鈥� said Mitch Marner, the forward in his ninth season in Toronto, responding to a question about a previous playoff experience Monday.

Fair enough. But you get the sense Toronto鈥檚 coaching staff wouldn鈥檛 be against the Leafs at least considering the circumstances of previous playoff underperformance. There鈥檚 an old saying about those who ignore history being doomed to repeat it. So start, say, with the penchant for unforced errors that has led the Leafs more than occasionally beating themselves when faced with inferior opponents. And go back to the very recent past of Saturday鈥檚 4-3 overtime loss in Game 4 in Ottawa.

The scouting report on the Senators couldn’t be more straightforward. Their lack of game-breaking talent means they were 31st in five-on-five scoring in the regular season. They largely compensated by leading the league in both drawing penalties and power-play goals. So it’s simple: Stay out of the box and you probably win.

And yet, there was Max Domi butt-ending Shane Pinto in the head in the faceoff circle during Saturday鈥檚 first period, taking a senseless penalty that essentially gifted Ottawa the power play that allowed them to take a tone-setting 1-0 lead en route to a 4-3 overtime win.

鈥淲ell, it鈥檚 not a good penalty, we know that,鈥� Berube said Monday. 鈥淓motions get involved in the game, and that鈥檚 where you鈥檝e got to control your emotions.鈥�

Domi, in his 10th year in the league, acknowledged as much.

鈥淥bviously you don鈥檛 want to butt-end a guy in the face. I certainly didn鈥檛 mean to do that,鈥� Domi said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 one of those things where you鈥檝e got to be aware of your stick. Doesn鈥檛 matter if it鈥檚 a situation like that or a trip or on the forecheck, wherever it might be. The refs have got to do their job. They鈥檝e got to call that. So it鈥檚 on us to be better, certainly myself included. And we鈥檒l be better, for sure.鈥�

How exactly 鈥渕e鈥� turned into 鈥渨e鈥� during the course of that answer is anyone鈥檚 guess. It was Domi鈥檚 penalty, and his alone, that put the Leafs on their back foot on Saturday. Still, it is a team game. Everyone鈥檚 playing a role. And Domi led the Leafs in penalties this season in part because it鈥檚 the nature of his role to traverse the line between what鈥檚 edgy and what鈥檚 a penalty. This time of year, mind you, the team would surely appreciate it if he shaded himself to the line’s preferable side.

But therein lies the challenge of playoff hockey. Previous Leaf teams have been accused of playing without sufficient emotion, for failing to rise to the required heights of intensity and urgency of the Stanley Cup tourney. And if you spent a few minutes in the dressing room Monday, you got the sense Berube has been delivering that message. More than one player said the Leafs need to 鈥渕atch (Ottawa鈥檚) desperation鈥� in 海角社区官网on Tuesday, Domi among them. The alternative is to be talking about matching Ottawa鈥檚 desperation back in Kanata on Thursday. And if the Leafs don鈥檛 like talk of their historic failures now, they鈥檙e going to like it a whole lot less if this series is still going a few days from now.

鈥淲hen you鈥檝e got a team fighting for their lives, you鈥檙e not getting a more desperate team than that. To beat that team you have to match that and, in a way, have more desperation than them,鈥� Domi said.

For certain Leafs, that means learning from the past, but not lingering on it. That means playing with an edge, but not going over it. Navigating that terrain is why they pay you to be a pro. The chance to eliminate an inferior team is why you exert the effort to win a division.

鈥淭here鈥檚 always a fine line between being assertive and confident, and reckless and undisciplined,鈥� defenceman Chris Tanev said Monday.

There鈥檚 clearly a fine line between winning and losing. Now seems like a fine moment for the Leafs to get on the right side of it.

鈥淚f winning was easy, everyone would win,鈥� Domi said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not an easy thing to do, and we know that.鈥�

Few franchises know it better.