Jake Gardiner, iron man
When Morgan Rielly recently missed six games because of a leg injury, Jake Gardiner became the Maple Leafs’ present iron man.
Gardiner has played in 126 consecutive games, dating to Oct. 30, 2015, when he returned to the Leafs lineup after missing three games with an upper-body injury.
“It’s not something I really think too much about, but it’s cool,” Gardiner said.
“I don’t usually put myself in situations where I get hit much and I think that limits the risk of injury. It’s about (proper) positioning.”
Gardiner has developed into a reliable performer on the Leafs blue line, the kind who spends little time in the infirmary. In the previous three seasons combined prior to 2016-17, the 26-year-old played in every game but eight.
Through 52 games this season, Gardiner leads Toronto defencemen in scoring with 25 points (seven goals and eight assists), one more than the 24 points rookie blueliner Nikita Zaitsev has amassed in 52 games.
With 30 games remaining, it’s likely Gardiner will set a personal best for points in one National Hockey League season. Twice Gardiner has recorded 31 points, most recently in 2015-16.
You don’t have to be told what Gardiner feels when he finds the back of the net, as he did during the Leafs’ win against Dallas on Tuesday, ending a 21-game spell without a goal.
“Oh, it’s the best,” Gardiner said. “It’s awesome. It’s like a touchdown in football or a home run in baseball. Especially as a d-man, you don’t get to score that often and any time you can contribute like that, it’s fun.”
Rielly had played in 193 consecutive games when he was hurt during a game on Jan. 17 versus Buffalo.
Keep ’em fresh
When Tyler Bozak started to make his mark in the NHL, in 2009-10 when he played in 37 games with the Leafs (as well as 32 in the American Hockey League with the Toronto Marlies), he found the adjustment to the professional level came with some bumps.
He’s not witnessing something similar in the Leafs’ rookies this season.
“They have a ton of energy and probably don’t get tired as easy,” Bozak said.
“My first year was tough with the back to backs and the amount of games we played with the schedule being so different from college, but they all seem to be fitting in well and still have their legs under them.”
In his final season at the University of Denver in 2008-09, Bozak played in 19 games; the season previous, he played in 41 games.
Loose Leafs
Alain Vigneault of the New York Rangers became the 15th coach in NHL history to reach 600 victories when the Rangers beat Anaheim on Tuesday, and now it’s a race between Mike Babcock and the Winnipeg Jets’ Paul Maurice to be the 16th coach to hit the milestone. Babcock and Maurice are tied with 581 wins apiece, and there is no retired coach between them and Vigneault. Babcock has coached in 255 fewer games than Maurice … Forward Seth Griffith has made a solid return to the organization after the Leafs re-claimed him on waivers from the Florida Panthers on Jan. 20. Griffith has played in eight games with the Marlies and has recorded at least one point in each, totalling 12 (two goals and 10 assists). The Marlies, who improved to 12-8-1-0 at home (and 22-21-1-2 overall) with a 4-2 victory against visiting Utica on Tuesday night, next play Friday on the road in Utica before returning home to face Albany on Saturday and Sunday at the Ricoh Coliseum.