The Maple Leafs will have the services of veteran Joffrey Lupul for their Friday night contest against the Detroit Red Wings, as the winger fully participated in the morning skate at Air Canada Center.
The oft-injured winger suffered a lower body injury during Toronto’s 3-2 overtime victory on Tuesday and took a maintenance day on Thursday in advance of the weekend’s home-and-home series with their Atlantic Division rival.
“It’s more about not necessarily being hurt as preventing an injury. Sometimes when you have something wrong, a day of rest is just better than pushing through it.… Lupul said. “It’s not an issue, I’ll be there tonight, I’ll be there tomorrow.…
James Reimer, who has both Leafs victories in starts against New York and Colorado, skated in the home net at ACC and is expected to get his third straight start, while Jonathan Bernier is expected to get the start in the second of back-to-back games at Joe Louis Arena on Saturday night.
Toronto will make one lineup change, as veteran defenseman Stephane Robidas is expected to be a healthy scratch and Jake Gardiner makes his return after sitting for two games.
Stephane Robidas confirms that he'll be scratched tonight. Jake Gardiner returns.
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) October 17, 2014“It’s never easy to sit out, nobody likes doing that.… Gardiner said Friday morning. “I wasn’t playing my game, that’s how it goes sometimes and I just have to battle back into the lineup and show’em what I got tonight.…
Gardiner will be paired with sophomore Morgan Rielly, a tandem that struggled defensively against Montreal and Pittsburgh, going a cumulative -6 in the pair of losses. The 37-year-old Robidas played just 13:28 on Tuesday after playing top pairing minutes the first three regular season games.
The Wings enter the game at 1-1-1 after starting the season with a trio of home games(a win and shootout loss to Boston and a regulation loss to Anaheim) having scored only six goals without star forward Pavel Datsyuk in the lineup. Sophomore Gustav Nyquist, who had a breakout season in 2013-14 with 28 goals in 57 games, leads the club with 3 goals.
Goaltender Jimmy Howard will get his fourth straight start for Detroit on Friday and former Leaf Jonas Gustavsson is expected to play against his former club on Saturday.
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The pair of games against the Red Wings provides the perfect pretext for the percolating rumors regarding Detroit coach Mike Babcock. The two-time Olympic and Stanley Cup winning coach indicated he would not negotiate a new deal with the Wings past the start of the regular season and could end up being the most sought after coaching free agent when his contract expires at the end of the 2014-15 season.
Babcock's name continues to be linked to the Maple Leafs with the tenuous job status of Toronto head coach Randy Carlyle. According to Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos, the Leafs contacted the Red Wings prior to giving Carlyle a two-year contract extension to inquire into the Detroit coach's status.
The fact that the Leafs with newly appointed Team President Brendan Shanahan put out feelers regarding Babcock's availability during the off season is not surprising, but it is far from a certainty that the Wings bench boss will leave Detroit after this season for greener pastures. Owner Mike Ilitch and GM Ken Holland may be willing to make Babcock the highest paid coach in the NHL, but a factor may be that the Wings are poised to go through a reset with veterans Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg on the down slope of their careers.
Another factor could be the Leafs winning this season under Carlyle. If Toronto succeed in making the playoffs, there would be little justification for Shanahan to dismiss the veteran coach and he would likely return in 2015.
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