TORONTO -- Having played in three MLS Cups, Greg Vanney had some advice for his players Friday ahead of next week's MLS championship game against Seattle.

Don't get swallowed up by the hoopla.

"My message to them today was we need to stay focused on the game, because everybody else is going to be focused on the event," Vanney told reporters. "And for us, it's not an event, it's a game ... we need to keep our attention on that.

"So the next couple of days, it's get all of the other sideshow stuff that happens, with the million phone calls you get from people who want things now. Let's get all that out of the way.

"My whole morning wasn't about training," he added. "My whole morning was about logistics and making sure that we get everything taken care of for the players away from the field right now, to make sure that they have one thing to worry about --and that's just their jobs on the night and getting that done."

Vanney has felt MLS Cup pain. The former defender lost three times with the Los Angeles Galaxy (1996, '99 and 2001) with two of those games requiring overtime. Assistant coach Robin Frazier played alongside Vanney in two of those losses (1996 and '99).

Among Toronto FC players, midfielder Will Johnson (with Real Salt Lake in 2009 and the Portland Timbers in 2015) and defender Drew Moor (Colorado Rapids in 2010) have won MLS championships.

Moor actually won his MLS Cup in Toronto, when the final used to be held at a neutral site. Toronto earned the right to host this year by virtue of finishing the regular season five points ahead of Seattle. TFC will even get to dress in its own locker-room for the Dec. 10 final against the Seattle Sounders.

On the injury front, Vanney reported that star striker Sebastian Giovinco felt no hangover from the leg cramp that forced him off the field late in Toronto's 5-2 victory Wednesday over the Montreal Impact in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference final.

Forward Jozy Altidore, who was involved in a series of physical battles, was also deemed healthy.

"Everybody's good," said Vanney. "It's bumps and bruises from a hard-fought game and just a lot of tough collisions and challenges. But nothing specific that we are concerned about. Everybody's into their normal recovery mode. We'll start preparations (for Seattle) in the next day or so."

Altidore has scored in five straight playoff games, an MLS record for a single season.

A roller-coaster of a game, Wednesday's result gave Toronto a 7-5 aggregate victory.

While Toronto players celebrated on the field and then in the dressing room with more than a few cold ones, the bottles of champagne were kept corked. The hope is to stage the mother of all celebrations Dec. 10.

Both Toronto and Seattle are on a roll.

The Sounders, who were 6-12-2 in ninth place in the 10-team Western Conference on July 26 when they parted ways with longtime coach Sigi Schmid, have gone 12-3-4 since with Brian Schmetzer at the helm.

Toronto, meanwhile, is 12-3-5 since July 16.

The teams drew 1-1 when they met July 2 at BMO Field in a game that saw Toronto field a lineup that featured perhaps just four starters due to injuries and a crowded schedule. Seattle was without striker Clint Dempsey, who remains out injured, and had not yet signed Uruguayan playmaker Nicolas Lodeiro.

The Sounders are 7-2-2 all time against Toronto FC, including a 3-1-1 record at BMO Field.