Leafs seeking right fit on defence
LAS VEGAS — Since the arrival of Jake Muzzin in a trade with the Los Angeles Kings, the Toronto Maple Leafs’ blue line has been in a state of constant rediscovery.
Coach Mike Babcock has put his defensive pairings in the same blender once reserved for his forwards. The latest ones he’s come up with — and used for the final two periods of Tuesday’s 5-2 National Hockey League win in Colorado — were intriguing, in large part because Babcock was dealing with five left-handed shots and only one righty.
Morgan Rielly is back on the left side, reunited with Ron Hainsey on the right side. There was a fair bit of Twitter outrage with the reunion of the two. Hainsey, shall we say, has his detractors.
Jake Muzzin skated with the natural righty, Nikita Zaitsev, on the second pairing. Twitter kind of liked that, more so for Muzzin than Zaitsev.
And Jake Gardiner got bumped to the third pair — Twitter loved that — skating on the left side, bumping lefty Travis Dermott to the right side.
“You guys (media) spend a lot of time on these pairings,” said Babcock. “That’s good though. Gives you something to do.
“But I don’t know if (these pairings) are going to go on for long. We’re going to find out with these six guys what works out best for us. Then we’re going to use it based on matchups.
“We’re pretty comfortable that Hainsey can play with anybody. Same with Muzzin. Same with Gardiner. We’re set up pretty good. We’ll figure it out over time.”
Rielly tried to play the right side, but asked to go back to his left side — or “strong” side in the parlance of the game, necessitating the changes. “That’s the natural side, you just feel more comfortable,” said Rielly. “That’s where you want to be. We have a group that’s willing to move around to make everyone comfortable, but I think I speak for most defencemen, you’re more comfortable on your natural side. That’s just the way it is.”
If Dermott can adapt to the right side at this stage of his young career, he can advance himself more quickly to more playing time — perhaps even as Rielly’s partner eventually.
“Honestly, I don’t hate the right side,” said Dermott. “There different options that come into your arsenal. I had a little spin-o-rama on the blue line (against Colorado) that on the left side, no way can I do that. There are a couple of more options. You’ve got to think the game a little differently. But I don’t hate it.”
Dermott is far from having reached his ceiling as far as his talent level goes. He has four goals and 12 assists this season, though he took a five-game pointless streak into Thursday’s game against the Golden Knights.
Gardiner has two goals, 25 assists, and was also on a five-game pointless streak, despite getting some power play time. He believes he and Dermott will mesh well.
“I’ve seen some similarities in our games, for sure,” he said. “He’s a really good skater, makes some smart plays, good passers, breaks the puck out well.”
Igor Ozhiganov became the odd man out when Muzzin arrived. He’s now a healthy scratch, along with the lightly used Justin Holl.
“What are the options? What are we supposed to do? Players expect us to play the best players every night, and they also expect you to play who’s playing best in that game. That’s the great thing about the NHL. It’s the best of the best, and the best play.”