LINEMATES WELCOME HYMAN’S RETURN
Hard-working Leafs winger earns praise for ability to gain possession of the puck
In Zach, John trusts.
Not that Connor Brown didn’t do an admirable job on the left wing with John Tavares and Mitch Marner in the Toronto Maple Leafs’ past two games, but with Zach Hyman returning from a suspension on Saturday night, Tavares might exhale a bit.
Hyman, done serving a twogame forced sit-down after his late hit on Boston Bruins defenceman Charlie McAvoy last Saturday, will line up in his usual spot when the Leafs take on the Florida Panthers tonight at the BB&T Center.
“Just so much trust in his game and so much predictability,” Tavares said of Hyman after the Leafs practised at the Panthers’ facility on Friday.
“He’s so strong on the puck, he’s so good on those 50-50 battles. Even ones you think he’s probably not going to come out of it, but he just finds a way. He puts a lot of pressure on (opposing defencemen) with his speed and strength. He’s a presence around the net. We really count on him defensively, as well, in our own zone, when the pucks are on the wall or we’re close to getting them out. It allows myself and Mitch to really read off him and have a good feel for what’s going to happen next.”
In Hyman’s absence — the first two games he missed since becoming a Leafs regular to start the 2016-17 regular season — Toronto finished on both ends of a 4-1 score, winning in Raleigh, N.C., Tuesday against the Carolina Hurricanes but losing by that same count to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday in Tampa. The Leafs were the better team in both games, but just ran into a hot Lightning goaltender in Andrei Vasilevskiy, who was spectacular in making a career-high 48 saves.
Watching was difficult for Hyman, as one would imagine. Keeping his motor parked as the Leafs started a three-game road swing didn’t sit well with the 26-year-old.
Were they the longest two games of Hyman’s life?
“Felt like a month,” Hyman said.
Considering Hyman is among the more honest players in the league, and doesn’t have a reputation of playing dirty hockey, the odds are likely he won’t be suspended again any time soon.
“What do I take (from the experience)?” Hyman said.
“That I miss playing hockey. I miss being out there with the guys.”
Hyman’s work ethic and ability to come up with the puck has endeared him to Mike Babcock, though the head coach might have gone a bit overboard on Friday in analyzing Hyman’s impact on Tavares and Marner.
What will it mean to have Hyman back in uniform?
“We get the puck all the time,” Babcock said. “So suddenly 91 (Tavares) and 16 (Marner) have the puck all the time. I don’t know if anybody here realizes that. That’s a fact. But they haven’t had it for two games. Why?”
We realize that, sure. We also realize that Tavares and Marner were better than 50 per cent in possession during five-onfive play in both games Hyman missed. And why take anything away from Brown, who usually goes as hard as Hyman does.
With Hyman back, Babcock has a full complement of forwards at his disposal, meaning Frederik Gauthier will once again be a healthy scratch. The fourth line will have Par Lindholm at centre between Tyler Ennis and Brown.
The fact the Leafs are deep and skilled and don’t have any injuries makes them heavy favourites against a Panthers team that’s nine points out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, is on a four-game losing streak, and has won just four of its past 15 games.
But Babcock wasn’t about to provide bulletin board material.
“I just think they’re like everybody,” Babcock said. “They’re in the NHL, they’re coming to play hard. They have some real highend players. They’re dangerous on the power play, so we have to be ready.
“I thought we were really prepared (in Tampa). I thought we did a lot of great things, but in the end, we didn’t get what we wanted.
“We know what we want (on Saturday), so we’re going to have to (play) well.”
He’s so strong on the puck, he’s so good on those 50-50 battles . ... He puts a lot of pressure on (opposing defencemen) with his speed and strength.