Shootout salvages sweet win for Lou
Kadri scores in fifth round as Leafs chalk one up against GM Lamoriello’s former team
The other night when the Maple Leafs were in St. Louis, GM Lou Lamoriello and Blues executive Martin Brodeur chatted as they walked down the hall post-game to their respective teams.
Something seemed wrong with that picture: The two men associated so deeply with the New Jersey Devils heading to the rooms of the Toronto Maple Leafs and St. Louis Blues, respectively.
“I’m sure Lou would be the first guy to tell you it’s only business,” said longtime Devils forward Patrick Elias.
Indeed, the business of hockey displays some strange, enjoyable and delicious twists and turns. Like Tuesday night, when Lamoriello’s new team faced his old team, the Devils.
Much to the delight of Lamoriello and the players who’ve come to respect him, the Maple Leafs emerged the victors, 3-2, when Nazem Kadri scored in the fifth round of the shootout.
James van Riemsdyk and P.A. Parenteau scored for Toronto in regulation in what might have been the end of the line — for now — for Garret Sparks. By the time the Leafs play again in a week’s time Jonathan Bernier’s conditioning stint in the AHL will be over and James Reimer’s sore groin may have healed. But the rookie goalie showed the Leafs some promise in his four-game audition.
To many, the Devils are the surprise team of the Eastern Conference through the first third of the season. They came into the game in eighth place in the conference, holding down the second seed. New coach John Hynes has emphasized offence while the team rides the stellar goaltending of Cory Schneider.
The Devils scored first, with ex-Leaf Lee Stempniak deflecting a shot on the power play. Parenteau, however, beat Schneider with a knuckleball of a shot from the blue line, the kind of soft goal that has often victimized Leaf netminders.
Both teams scored once each in the second. Van Riemsdyk with a deflection and Kyle Palmieri with a wrist shot as the Devils’ power play connected twice.
Even though Lamoriello is the GM of the Leafs, he hasn’t had much to do with the make-up of the team. Outside of Michael Grabner and some clean-shaven faces, it was more or less set by the time he was hired.
“We realize this one has a special meaning for him,” said van Riemsdyk. “The things he’s done since he’s been here, he’s been great, as far as getting the players everything they need to be successful. In tough situations you try to pull together as a group.
“He’s hands on, completely wants to help. A lot of behind-the-scenes stuff that as player you really appreciate, making sure the players come to the rink, work hard and not have to worry about anything else.”
The Leafs have come to appreciate Lamoriello, the 73-year-old executive and architect of three Stanley Cup champions.
“With Lou, the thing I was really taken aback by is when we get there in the morning for practice he’s there having a coffee,” said Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly. “He’s the first one there and the last one to leave. He’s an extremely hard worker. He’s around the team a lot more than I thought he’d be.”
At the coach’s press conference following the morning skate, head coach Mike Babcock revealed he had a say in Lamoriello’s hiring by president Brendan Shanahan.
“Shanahan talked to me,” said Babcock. “Lou’s a good man. The perception of Lou and the reality of Lou are two different things. I think he kind of likes it that way. I enjoy being around him a lot. He’s a steady influence. He knows what he wants. He’s good people.
“He expects a lot out of people.”
The Leafs now have a week off between games. Among the league leaders with 16 back-to-back sets of games, Toronto doesn’t play again until Tuesday at home to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
“It’s weird,” said van Riemsdyk. “This is our second or third one with five days between games. When you get a stretch in the schedule like this you use it to your advantage to make sure you use that week to get healthier and make sure you’re sharp.”