Gardiner on the first line of defence
Veteran still searching for consistency, but he’ll do it on top unit with Hainsey
Jake Gardiner has made a career of ups and downs.
He shows flashes of brilliance, with incredible breakout passes that set up scoring chances. And he has his brain cramps, like not quite knowing what to do as the only man back on a 2-on-1.
But with No. 1 defenceman Morgan Rielly officially placed on injured reserve — the Leafs recalled Rinat Valiev from the Marlies on Monday as insurance — Gardiner is back in the spotlight, paired with Ron Hainsey on the Leafs’ top blue-line unit.
“He’s really solid defensively,” Gardiner said of his new partner. “He really moves the puck well. Just a veteran, really smart and makes it real easy.”
For much of his time under head coach Mike Babcock, Gardiner has been the more experienced defence- man on his pairing. He clicked last year with rookie Nikita Zaitsev, but Zaitsev broke a foot in December and Gardiner’s partners have rotated since then.
Now a healthy dose of the defensively sound and remarkably talkative Hainsey might help Gardiner, a seven-year veteran, the way it helped Rielly.
“He’s pretty vocal,” Gardiner said. “Once you’re around the league this long, that’s a huge asset, and he uses it well.”
Gardiner had a three-point night against Ottawa on Saturday, making a terrific pass to Mitch Marner through the neutral zone after creating space for himself by slowing down, turning sideways and confusing the Senators’ defenders.
“He’s really good at that,” centre Auston Matthews said. “Sometimes you don’t know exactly what he’s going to do. But if you’re open, nine times out of 10 he’s going to get you the puck. Unbelievable play by him. He froze everybody and Mitch was coming in with speed.”
Even with Rielly taking over as the primary defenceman on the power play this season, Gardiner’s numbers haven’t tailed off. He has three goals and 21 assists heading into Monday night’s game; he had six goals and 16 assists at this point last year.
But those aren’t the numbers that Babcock cares about.
“I like Jake a lot because he makes a lot of neat plays and he’s not in scoring chances against,” Babcock said. “Sometimes you don’t know what he’s doing, but he’s not in scoring chances against. He makes elite plays.
“We seem to play in the offensive zone when he’s out there. That’s good with me.”
There is no official NHL stat that records scoring chances against, but the Leafs analytics department maintains its own database.
Gardiner’s possession numbers (a measure of all shots taken in 5-on-5 situations) are at 49.09 per cent, fifth-best among Leaf regular defencemen, according to naturalstattrick.com. His scoring chances for are at 52.66 per cent, third among Leafs defencemen. And his high-- danger scoring chances are at 54.66 per cent, also third.
“I can always get better,” Gardiner said. “As a whole, it’s been a pretty solid season. The consistency part, there have been a few holes, but I think I’m playing well every night.”
The Leafs’ blue line remains a work in progress. Thanks to injuries, two rookies — Travis Dermott and Andreas Borgman — are regulars and have played admirably. Throw in Connor Carrick — a frequent healthy scratch this season with148 games in his career — and the blue line is painted a bit green.
“We’ve got guys who have stepped up,” Matthews said. “Our three young guys that came in, they’re skilled and can make plays and they’re solid defensively.”
Babcock has liked what he has seen, and joked that Rielly’s injury made his life easier.
“I didn’t know what the heck I was going to do anyway. Those three kids all played good (against Ottawa),” he said. “I was going to have to scratch one of them and now I don’t have to make a decision.”