For the latest Leafs updates or Follow @mikeinbuffalo on Twitter
The Toronto Maple Leafs finish off their three-game homestand against the Dallas Stars at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday, with hopes of putting their worst performance of the season behind them.
“(Calgary) did to us what we normally do to other teams.… Leafs head coach Mike Babcock said. “We didn’t execute and they did and in the end, that’s the worst we’ve been outplayed by any team by a wide margin, because we gave up so many quality opportunities.…
The bottom pairing of Martin Marincin and Igor Ozhiganov were particularly bad on Monday (combining for six giveaways) and Babcock will shake things up on the blueliner by inserting Travis Dermott and rookie Justin Holl.
Dermott missed three games due to illness and Holl was a healthy scratch for the opening month after making the Leafs out of training camp, something that the head coach informed would be the case before the season started.
“(Holl) has known all along. We were right up front and let him know and let him know what was going on and now here’s an opportunity.… Babcock said. “We’re giving (Ozhiganov) a night off. I’m going to give him a night off every once in awhile, just because the (NHL) season is so much longer then it was where he’s been.…
The big Russian was in a rotation with Marincin early last month, but had played seven straight games and saw his play slip a bit.
The club held an optional skate on Thursday morning, which likely means that Frederik Andersen will make his 11th start of the season, and that the revamped line combinations put together at the Mastercard Centre on Wednesday (Mitch Marner with John Tavares and Zach Hyman and Kasperi Kapanen will play with Nazem Kadri and Patrick Marleau) will be utilized against the Stars.
Dallas, who won their first road game in Montreal on Tuesday, may not have the services of winger Alex Radulov, who re-aggravated a lower body injury against the Habs and are expected to start backup Anton Khudobin.
Not only will it be Thursday’s contest be the 1000th game for veteran Ron Hainsey, it also marks the return of former Leaf Roman Polak to Toronto.
The 32-year-old, who played 240 games for the Leafs from 2014 to 2018 and signed with the Stars as an unrestricted free agent in July, enjoyed his tenure in Toronto as a role player under Mike Babcock and offered some insight of what the Leafs head coach expects from his players.
“(Babcock and I) respected each other. He’s a great coach, With me, he just told me what to do and I did it, because I’m not a skilled guy.… Polak said. “If you are me and have a certain role on the team, for me it is easier to do. If you are more like a skilled guy, you could have a problem with him. That’s what he did in Detroit with (Pavel) Datsyuk. He was a skilled guy, but he made him defend too.…
Polak puts Babcock in the same category as former Blues coaches Andy Murray and Ken Hitchcock, expecting his players be accountable and responsible every day, every practice and every minute, which in the end will make them into better players.
“You just need to be mentally strong. Especially with Babs, he doesn’t like anybody who is mentally weak.… *******
Our latest Leafs Convo podcast seriously seriously themed. Very serious. Perhaps even a bit scary. Listen to the full episode now. @MikeInBuffalo @TheLeafsConvo #TMLtalk #TheLeafsConvo https://t.co/5YtzmBbnPo
— Norman James (@NormanJamesTLC) November 1, 2018