Below is Mike Babcock’s media address following the Maple Leafs’ 3-2 shootout loss to the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday night.
Can you come any closer in the shootout than some of those chances you had?
Mike Babcock: We hit a bar and two posts. In saying that, let’s be honest, we did tonnes of good things. It says on the sheet that we directed 85 shots on net, or that way. It was a pretty good night. I thought we made some big mistakes. They got a breakaway on the powerplay. They got a breakaway with four minutes left. In saying that, we had the puck a tonne to say the least. Multiple, multiple chances. We’re a little snakebit around the net right now, but just keep grinding and it will go your way. Just keep doing good things.
Did you feel the way Auston’s line certainly keeps getting chemistry going?
Babcock: I thought Hyman was unbelievable tonight. That line had a lot of time in the zone. I thought that was Marner’s best game in a while. I thought he was real solid, too. But we had lots of guys with lots of opportunity tonight. I haven’t looked at the game totally. We just go through the chances between periods. I thought it was a pretty good game for us, but we didn’t score.
That four-minute kill — how big was that for the team?
Babcock: It was a huge kill for us. We gave up the 5-on-3, which we didn’t like to. But we had a 5-on-3 chance ourselves and didn’t score. We got a powerplay goal at the end of the first period there, but we didn’t score on the 5-on-3 and you have to. You have to finish on the 5-on-3.
With the way Frederik Andersen has played the last few games, has he deserved better in the shootout?
Babcock: Freddie’s not alone. [It’s] the team. Just keep grinding. No one feels sorry for anybody in the NHL. You got to suck it up and find a way to win games. That’s the bottom line.
You switched up the order of the shootout tonight –
Babcock: because it didn’t work. Tonight, their goalie didn’t make one save but he made all three, if that makes any sense. A bar and two posts. That’s just the way it goes. They hit a post, too, on their first shot. I think Holland, if I’m not mistaken, fanned on the shot, too, and it went through his legs. That’s the way it goes sometimes. We did lots of good things. We just got to keep going.
Have you heard that Frank Corrado went public with his disgruntlement about not playing today?
Babcock: This is what I’m disappointed in. I’m disappointed he feels that way. If you think me liking you has anything to do with whether you play or don’t play, you’re missing the boat big time. I love the guys, and I’m hoping for all of them. Whether you go in the lineup or not is based on how you play, period. Nothing personal one bit. It becomes personal, and it’s just unfortunate that he feels that way. That’s too bad. We talk quite a bit. We’ll talk again. You know, he’s a young guy. He’s frustrated. He had his chance with the media today, and that’s life.
