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The Toronto Maple Leafs start their first playoff series in four seasons as a heavy underdog and will start the first round matchup against the Washington Capitals without one of their top blueliners.
Leafs head coach Mike Babcock indicated prior to the club departing for Washington on Wednesday that defenseman Nikita Zaitsev will not play in Game 1 on Thursday due to an unconfirmed concussion.
“The great thing about this medical department is that I don't deal with that part (the diagnosis), they just tell me (Zaitsev is) not available to go. He's got an upper body injury.… Babcock said. “We thought Zaitsev was going to play and when we found out he wasn't going to play, we had to move (the defensive pairings) around here. We went one way yesterday and another here today. We've got a pre-game skate (on Thursday); we'll get it figured out.…
The 25-year-old Russian finished second in defensive scoring behind Jake Gardiner with 36 points (four goals, 32 assists) and second in TOI(time-on-ice) to Morgan Rielly at just over 22 minutes per game and will be replaced by Martin Marincin, who scored one goal and six assists in 25 games and has not played since a 7-2 loss to Florida on March 14.
Zaitsev’s absence forced the Leafs to mix up their defensive pairings, as Matt Hunwick moved up to the top pairing with Morgan Rielly playing the right side, something the veteran has not done since early in the season.
“Can he do it? Has he done it? Does he feel comfortable doing it? The matchup is accordingly. It's not as good – they can tell you it is – but it's just flat-out not as good. It is what it is.… Babcock said. “Injuries are a part of sport and good teams find a way to suck it up and get 'er done anyways. Here's an opportunity for somebody else.…
Jake Gardiner partnered with veteran Roman Polak (who returned after missing Tuesday’s practice) and Marincin skated with former Capital Connor Carrick.
Tyler Bozak resumed his normal spot between James van Riemsdyk and Mitch Marner and goalie Frederik Andersen took to the ice for the second day in a row. Babcock stated that Andersen was good to go on Thursday.
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Predictions for first round series starting Wednesday:
NY Rangers vs. Montreal – Habs do not have enough offense and Carey Price will have to be at his beat to get past the Rangers.
Prediction – Rangers in seven
Boston vs. Ottawa Both teams have bluelines hampered by injury, Boston has the better scoring and more playoff experience. Erik Karlsson and Craig Anderson will have to be at their best for Ottawa to advance.
Prediction – Bruins in six
Pittsburgh vs. Columbus - The Pens have Crosby and Matt Murray proved his worth in goal in last year’s Cup run, but the loss of Kris Letang and injuries to Malkin, Hagelin and Maatta make them not as imposing as last season.
Prediction – Blue Jackets in seven
Minnesota vs. St. Louis - The Wild slumped after the trade deadline and the Blues got hot, but Minnesota did not have much to play for after being one of the best teams in the NHL for most of the season. Will Devan Dubnyk return to early season form?
Prediction – Wild in six
Edmonton vs. San Jose - The Sharks faded down the stretch and lost Joe Thornton and Logan Couture to injury, but both are returning to face the Oilers. Edmonton has Connor McDavid, but San Jose will try to give him the star treatment. The Oilers fortunes may rest on their second line of Milan Lucic, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins-Jordan Eberle being able to provide secondary offense.
Prediction – Sharks in seven
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