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Mike Babcock addressed the media after his team’s 2-0 loss to the Minnesota Wild on Thursday night.


On the game playing out as tight-checking as expected:

Yeah, it was much the game I was expected, to tell you the truth. I thought we did a lot of really good things. There was a turnover on the first and we actually did it on the second goal, too. An east-west play. We had lots of opportunities and lots of good looks. Played a pretty good road game.

On whether the Wild did a good job defensively and in net, or if the Leafs were gripping their sticks a little:

I don’t know why the guys would be squeezing their sticks. There’s no reason for that. To me, we’re a team that feels pretty good about ourselves and we’re playing pretty well. I don’t know what that would be about. I thought their goaltender had a good game and I thought they protected him well. I didn’t think either team gave up very many opportunities, so it was a night for the goaltenders that way.

In the end, I don’t know how many power plays we had, but we had quite a few. We had another power play with the 4-on-4 with the goalie pulled, basically. We didn’t execute at all on the power play tonight. We weren’t dangerous enough on the power play. We’ll have to get that fixed because that’s a critical part of the game.

On whether this is a good taste of how the games are going to be down the stretch and into the playoffs:

They played tight. I think we’re seeing the league is real tight anyway. Teams are desperate each and every night and you’re getting a good quality game each night. I don’t think there is a whole lot of room out there when you’re playing most teams. We knew coming in what to expect and we got exactly what we expected. In the end, they found a way to win.

We’ve got another game tomorrow. They’re going to play tight, too. We’ve got to find a way to play tight and score more than they do.

On the need to adjust on the power play:

100%. For sure. You’ve got to adjust. I thought today the shot from the top and on the sides were there for us and we didn’t do it as much. We’ll take a good look at it. As the year goes on, each and every year, it’s like that. They make changes for you and then you make changes to adjust. That’s our job: To do a better job in that area.