Andersen awaits clearance to play
Goalie has first workout since head hit, while both Polak and Zaitsev sit out practice
It would rank as a surprise if Frederik Andersen is not ready to play Thursday when the Leafs open their Eastern Conference quarter-final series in Washington against the Capitals.
The Leafs goalie sounded confident of starting Game 1, which will come five days after he left a game against Pittsburgh and underwent concussion protocol for a hit to the head.
Andersen worked out with the Leafs Tuesday, his first on-ice appearance since the hit Saturday night, and all signs are that he is ready for the playoffs.
But Andersen, who has to pass a series of tests before full clearance is guaranteed, knew he could not be concrete in his answers.
“Yeah, I mean if everything goes well, yeah,” Andersen said after Tuesday’s practice. “I definitely want to work as hard as I can and do all the right things to be ready.”
The Leafs are dealing with additional uncertainty. Defenceman Nikita Zaitsev (head) missed practice Tuesday, and fellow blueliner Roman Polak (leg) joined him after a short stint on the ice.
Zaitsev, arguably the Leafs’ best blueliner, was dizzy on the ice after taking a hit to the head near the end of the first period Sunday against Columbus. He was hoping to return to practice Tuesday, and wanted to join his teammates for Game-1-against the Capitals.
“Neither (Zaitsev nor Polak) practised (Tuesday), but both are progressing, so we’re optimistic they’ll practise (Wednesday), but nothing’s guaranteed,” Leafs coach Mike Babcock said.
Babcock would likely call on Martin Marincin to fill any hole on defence. Marincin has been a healthy scratch for most of the past two months, and has played in only four games since late January.
The Leafs were also without centre Tyler Bozak on Tuesday. He periodically sits out practices for body maintenance reasons.
Meanwhile, Andersen refused to answer whether he had concussion symptoms.
“I’m not going to talk about that in the playoffs,” he said. “I didn’t see (the Penguins’ Tom Sestito) coming at all, it wasn’t a good feeling, for sure. I’m sure you saw the pictures. I had a process to go through and it is what it is. Hopefully, I’m feeling ready to go and hopefully just feeling better and better as the day goes on.”
“You have a protocol . . . that is one of the things you just have to deal with. But you want to be back out there as soon as possible, even in the game. You want to do everything you can to be ready to play and this time is the most fun time of the year. So you don’t want to miss any extra time.”
Curtis McElhinney, Toronto’s backup goalie, has appeared in one playoff game in his NHL career, back in 2009 while he was with Calgary.