At 1:41 am on Thursday, the Bay Area was shook by a 4.6 magnitude earthquake. <\/p>\n
\u201cWoke me up and then I thought the whole place was coming down,\u201d said Leafs winger Steven Lorentz<\/a> with a grin. \u201cI don\u2019t want to say it\u2019s \u2018cool\u2019 because it\u2019s a little bit scary, but I guess I\u2019m an earthquake survivor again.\u201d<\/p>\n Lorentz played for the San Jose Sharks<\/a> in the 2022-23 season and believes this was his seventh earthquake. <\/p>\n It was considered a minor earthquake and there were no reported injuries or deaths. But for many Leafs this was a new experience. <\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t really know it was that, honestly,\u201d said rookie Easton Cowan<\/a>, who is on his first California road trip in the NHL. \u201cI just kind of looked out my door to see what was up and went back to bed, but found out this morning…Obviously pretty crazy, pretty shocking.\u201d<\/p>\n Not everyone experienced the earthquake in real time. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m rattled,\u201d said defenceman Jake McCabe<\/a> with a sheepish smile. \u201cI woke up to the alert on my phone and I was pissed that I didn\u2019t wake up. I\u2019ve always been wanting to feel one.\u201d<\/p>\n Craig Berube<\/a> also slept through the seismic activity. <\/p>\n \u201cNo clue,\u201d the coach quipped. \u201cI was out. Guys told me this morning and I was like, \u2018Really? I didn\u2019t feel nothing.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n The earthquake dominated discussion in the morning. <\/p>\n \u201cWe were all like, \u2018Did you feel it? Did you feel it?\u2019\u201d McCabe said. \u201cI feel like it\u2019s like 50-50 guys that woke up or not.\u201d<\/p>\n ‘Pretty shocking’: Leafs are ‘rattled’ by earthquake experience in San Jose Jake McCabe, Easton Cowan, Steven Lorentz and Craig Berube share their experience after an earthquake rocked their hotel in San Jose on Wednesday night. <\/p>\n —<\/p>\n Hours before the earthquake, the earth shifted in the Hart Trophy race. Sharks centre Macklin Celebrini<\/a> produced a four-point game to lead the Sharks to a 4-3 win over the Anaheim Ducks<\/a>. Fans serenaded the sophomore sensations with \u201cMVP\u201d chants. <\/p>\n Does the 19-year-old from Vancouver belong in the Hart Trophy discussion? <\/p>\n \u201cAbsolutely,\u201d said McCabe. \u201cI don\u2019t know how he\u2019s not in it, just what he\u2019s done with the turnaround of this team.\u201d<\/p>\n San Jose finished dead last in the NHL last season with 52 points. The Sharks enter Thursday\u2019s game with 77 points, which is just one behind the Los Angeles Kings<\/a> for the final wildcard spot in the Western Conference. <\/p>\n \u201cI was able to watch the last half of that game last night on TV and obviously he took the game over,\u201d said McCabe, who leads the Leafs at plus-13 this season. <\/p>\n Celebrini is listed as the third choice (+1500) on the Hart Trophy board at FanDuel behind Colorado Avalanche<\/a> centre Nathan MacKinnon<\/a> and Tampa Bay Lightning<\/a> winger Nikita Kucherov<\/a> with Edmonton Oilers<\/a> centre Connor McDavid<\/a> the fourth favourite. <\/p>\n Celebrini already proved he belongs in that elite company at the Olympics in Milan. <\/p>\n \u201cA kid of that age and what he\u2019s doing, it\u2019s right here,\u201d Berube said while pointing to his head. \u201cHe\u2019s smart. He\u2019s a very intelligent player. He goes to the Olympics to play with a guy like McDavid and different guys, MacKinnon, and stuff, and the coach keeps putting him out there with those guys, and using him, and they want to play with him. You have to have intelligence.\u201d<\/p>\n Celebrini has 105 points this season, which is 51 more than his closest teammate. <\/p>\n \u201cA great player doing unreal things,\u201d said Cowan, who played with Celebrini on Team Canada at the 2024 World Juniors. \u201cYou learn a lot from him and he\u2019s a great guy as well. It will be cool to battle against him tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n What did he learn from Celebrini?<\/p>\n \u201cJust how strong he is on the puck,\u201d Cowan said. \u201cI mean, he doesn\u2019t lose many battles. You kind of just see how many battles he wins and it creates chances for him.\u201d<\/p>\n Berube impressed by how MVP candidate Celebrini meshed with McDavid at Olympics Craig Berube and a number of Maple Leafs players share their thoughts on Macklin Celebrini’s incredible sophomore season and discuss whether he should be in consideration for the Hart Trophy. <\/p>\n —<\/p>\n The Sharks have won three straight games to surge back into the playoff race, including the last two at home. <\/p>\n \u201cThe fans are here,\u201d Celebrini told reporters after Wednesday\u2019s win \u201cIt\u2019s loud. We\u2019re winning games and we\u2019re making a push. This is exciting. I haven\u2019t really been through this before and I\u2019m just trying to soak it up.\u201d<\/p>\n The SAP Center, with its low roof, can provide the Sharks with one of the best home-ice advantages in the NHL. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a great building,\u201d said Berube. \u201cBack in the day, coming in here was a tough place to play. First period was like, \u2018Woah.\u2019 I mean, you gotta get out of the first period. But they\u2019re definitely getting that attitude back here with their team.\u201d<\/p>\n Toronto has been off since posting an emotional overtime win in Anaheim on Monday, which was the Radko Gudas<\/a> revenge game. It won\u2019t be as easy to generate intensity on Thursday. <\/p>\n \u201cWe talked about bringing emotion,\u201d Berube said. \u201cThe emotion last game was already there. We know that. But today it\u2019s not there, right. It\u2019s different. So, for me, it\u2019s about every individual bringing that emotion tonight and going to play. They have emotion and they\u2019re going to play with emotion because they\u2019re in a situation that they have to. A big part of it is bringing that emotion and being invested in it.\u201d<\/p>\n Leafs Ice Chips: No tanking at the Tank; Stolarz loves swimming with the Sharks The Maple Leafs are coming off an emotional win Monday night in Anaheim in what was the Radko Gudas revenge game. It will be hard to match the emotional intensity of that game tonight as they face a Sharks team that is in a heated playoff battle. Mark Masters has more. <\/p>\n —<\/p>\n Cowan is bringing intensity almost every night even though the Leafs are playing out the stretch of a disappointing season. <\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s emotionally invested and doing a lot of good things,\u201d Berube said. \u201cThere\u2019s mistakes, yes, and things we constantly work on with him or show him in video, what he can do better, but he never stops. He\u2019s got that motor and he has it right here (points to head). He knows he made a mistake and he\u2019s pretty good about recognizing it, but that\u2019s not going to stop him from trying it again.\u201d <\/p>\n Cowan produced the second multi-point game of his career on Monday by posting two assists against the Ducks. He\u2019s currently slotting in on the top line beside John Tavares<\/a> and William Nylander<\/a>. <\/p>\n Berube isn\u2019t the only one noticing Cowan\u2019s play lately. A pair of Toronto Blue Jays, George Springer and Ernie Clement, were mic\u2019d up during a Leafs game last week and gushed about the 20-year-old winger. <\/p>\n \u201cEaston Cowan<\/a>, that\u2019s my guy,\u201d Clement told Springer. \u201cHe\u2019s a grinder.\u201d<\/p>\n The feeling is mutual. <\/p>\n \u201cClement\u2019s my favourite player too so that was pretty cool,\u201d Cowan said. \u201cWe had a good talk and just hearing some stories from Springer too, it was awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n Why does Cowan like Clement? <\/p>\n \u201cI feel like he\u2019s a versatile player, can play wherever, brings good vibes and he was really good in the postseason,\u201d Cowan said. \u201cSo definitely super cool.\u201d <\/p>\n Leafs rookie Cowan appreciates compliment from favourite Jay Clement Blue Jays Ernie Clement and George Springer were mic’d up at a Maple Leafs game last week and showed some love to Easton Cowan during the game. Cowan explains what it was like meeting the two players and getting a chance to speak with them. <\/p>\n —<\/p>\n