For the latest Leafs updates or Follow @mikeinbuffalo on Twitter The Toronto Maple Leafs have six games remaining in the regular season, including Wednesday’s match against the Florida Panthers at Air Canada Centre, but Leafs head coach Mike Babcock is not letting on that there will be any changes in his modus operandi between now and the beginning of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Leafs are looking to clinch a postseason berth and set a franchise record of 46 wins with a victory over the Panthers, but with a 12 point lead over Florida and trailing Boston by eight points for second place, the battle between the Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning for top spot in the Atlantic is the only thing that will alter their playoff picture over the next 11 days. With their final set of back-to-back games this weekend (@NY Islanders and vs. Winnipeg), backup Curtis McElhinney will likely make his final start against the Jets on Saturday unless they choose to deviate from his usual goaltending pattern of using Frederik Andersen whenever there is days off between games. Babcock did not hint of any plans to deviate from the norm after the morning skate at ACC. “What we are going to do is play today, and we are going to worry about today and be the best we can be.… Babcock said. The Leafs goalie will lead the NHL in starts when he makes his 63rd on Wednesday, but clinching could be the final hurdle for Toronto to lighten up on Andersen’s workload slightly going into the final week, with games against Buffalo, New Jersey and Montreal to finish the campaign. There is always a concern about taking a player out of their routine late in the season and the possibility of injuries. There will be a four-to-five day gap in between the end of the regular season and Game 1 of the first round, so that likely means that Andersen will play in the season finale vs. the Canadiens on Saturday to stay sharp.
Toronto nearly had a disaster scenario 12 months ago, when Pittsburgh’s Tom Sestito collided with Andersen in the second last game of the season, so giving him a extra night off against the Sabres next Monday or in Newark on Thursday in favor of McElhinney lowers his exposure. *******
This to the Leafs Convo pre-game podcast with myself and Norman James:
Toronto will stay with the same line combinations and defensive pairings as Monday, with Auston Matthews centering Zach Hyman and William Nylander, Nazem Kadri between Patrick Marleau and Mitch Marner and Tyler Bozak with James van Riemsdyk and Connor Brown, Tomas Plekanec centering rookies Andreas Johnsson and Kasperi Kapanen.
Ron Hainsey paired with Morgan Rielly, Jake Gardiner with Nikita Zaitsev and rookie Travis Dermott alongside Masterton nominee Roman Polak. The Panthers have a great deal on the line, who are in a tight battle with New Jersey for the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference and trail the Devils by three points, but have two games in hand and a league-high eight games left. Roberto Luongo will get the start for Florida, who has a 22-10-1 career record against the Leafs, with a 2.16 GAA and .930 save percentage. *******If you are interested in sponsorship or advertising your business in the Greater Toronto / Southern Ontario area on this column, please send a message for more information by clicking on the “Contact… button at the top of the page.*******