Leafs go outdoors for a little 3-on-3 shinny

Intramural tournament helps team shake off loss in Philadelphia

The Toronto Maple Leafs put aside the lopsided numbers they had accumulated — in shots against, in possession — and settled on a spell of old-fashioned fun Wednesday.

Skating on an outdoor rink in St. Paul, Minn. — officially the Wells Fargo WinterSkate rink, adjacent to the Xcel Energy Center, the home of the Minnesota Wild — the Leafs staged a 3-on-3 tournament, complete with a pair of loaned-out high school goalies, the day after a 4-2 loss in Philadelphia.

The rollicking, shinny tournament featured a trophy for the winning team — Morgan Rielly, Nazem Kadri, Kasperi Kapanen, Connor Brown and Roman Polak — that was donated by defenceman Jake Gardiner’s father, John.

“It was like back in the day when you were a kid,” Kadri said. “It was a lot of fun.”

Leafs head coach Mike Babcock approached Jake Gardiner a couple of weeks ago about the idea of a day of fun and bonding in Minnesota. The idea was to find an outdoor rink and, after a quick text between son and father, the “Six Cup” was born.

For Babcock, though, there was no getting away from the current state of his team, which isn’t all that bad, except for some injuries and the nagging details from Tuesday’s loss.

Prior to the outdoor practice, which was actually across the street from the team hotel in St. Paul, the coach addressed his team regarding the third-period collapse in which the Leafs were outshot 18-9. The team lost for the first time in six games this season without centre Auston Matthews.

Babcock reiterated that Matthews remains day to day with an upperbody injury, and won’t play Thursday night’s game against the Wild.

Babcock also explained that he is steering clear of frequent checks on Matthews, and any other injured players, in an effort to avoid a situation where the player feels pressured by the coach.

“I used to ask players questions (about injuries), but what it is, it’s perceived as pressure from the coach,” Babcock said. “When you’re putting pressure on a guy, and he comes back and gets injured, you see it all the time, a recurring injury . . . it makes no sense. Especially in the situation we are (with Matthews), you buy a little.

“The other thing about it, no matter who’s away, you got to find a way to win games. That’s just it, suck it up, play the game right, and find a way to win.”

Babcock mentioned that winger Nikita Soshnikov returned to Toronto to deal with groin soreness, while defenceman Andreas Borgman did not skate (nursing “bumps and bruises”).

In the meantime, Gardiner’s father, John, made sure the 3-on-3 tournament had a reward for the winners.

“I think it was one of my squirt trophies, and we played for it today,” Jake Gardiner said. “I think he (fa- ther) was probably the most excited guy out there. But everyone had a blast today.”

Even if everybody wasn’t thrilled with the result. “I never like when Naz (Kadri) wins.” Gardiner said. “Mo (Rielly) too. That’s a killer combination.” The name “Six Cup” came from Gardiner’s number, 51, which when separated adds up to 6. Six also happens to be Gardiner’s nickname. The Leafs will try to make the outdoor tourney a habit in Minnesota.

“We looked at our schedule earlier and thought it’d be a fun opportunity for the guys and, as you know, the morale, emotion of a team is so important . . . so I thought this set us up for good energy, and set us up for (Thursday’s game against the Wild),” said Babcock.

As for the high-school goalies, Henry Welsh, 17, and Luke Fry, 19, they had links to Leafs goalie coach Steve Briere through one of his past clinics.

“They were good,” Kadri said. “They did us a big favour, coming in and supporting us like that, so it was a lot of fun for everyone.”