Game Day: Mike Babcock
Babcock: Nothing has happened since yesterday. Okay, what’s up?
Why’s that?
Babcock: We’re just practising. You’re going to ask me, “What’s going on on D? What’s going on at center?” And I’ll say, “I don’t know, I’m going to watch them again.”
Which of the two final games would you like to have your full lineup in?
Babcock: Well, what’s been good is the way we adjusted a few days ago and almost got our full lineup in a game. We’re going to practice three times with them, and yet we’ve kind of put the guys that are battling for jobs — and they’ve been told — into playing games and they can figure it out. I don’t have anything to tell you except they’re going to play and I’m going to watch. And then we’re going to do it again, and another time, and by then, we’ll probably still not know what’s going on, but we’ll have to submit a lineup the day before. Over 10 games or so, then we’ll probably get it right after that. How’s that? So nothing happened.
What does Marincin have to do to grab a hold of a job here in the final week?
Babcock: He’s just got to be steady and be a good penalty killer and play with confidence and be assertive.
Soshnikov was saying he didn’t really start feeling comfortable coming back from the injury until recently. Are you noticing a comfort level now with him more?
Babcock: Two or three days into training camp, I went to Sosh and said, “Sosh, you’re all wound up. Take some pressure off of yourself. We know you’re a good player. You’ve missed a ton of time. You’re not in the physical shape you should be in. You’re not in the mental shape you should be in. The number one thing is you’ve got to get yourself looked after. The first thing you’ve got to is to breathe and give yourself a break, and then get out here and play.”
He’s a good player and we know it. We’re going to do whatever is right to help Sosh be the best player he can be.
Given the strides taken by the team last year, do you have to change the message this year or is it more of the same in terms of the commitment, the blueprint?
Babcock: I think the message changes all the time, almost like a theme of the week or whatever. You’re trying to get better each and every day. My message thus far, after I’ve seen us in camp, is that the talent level is way up but that means the work level has to be way up. If you don’t put your work before your skill… if skill comes first, you don’t win. You get some points and entertain some fans, and you get some hopes up, and never ever win. But if you put your work first and you have good structure, you still get points and get all of that stuff, but you actually get a chance to win. We’ve got to learn how to play right and play hard and do it every single day.
Does that kind of tie into what you were saying before about guarding against complacency, especially with the young guys?
Babcock: Complacency, whatever you want to call it… If you come in here every day and you’re a good pro and you do your work, good things happen. As soon as you allow slippage… and that’s for all of us. As soon as you feel good about your team, things go bad. Just live scared. Just come every day and get better and everything goes good.
Do you expect this will be an anxious game given those guys on the bubble?
Babcock: There’s no sense in being anxious. You may as well be loose and driving and get out there and play. But you see our lineup tonight. We’ve got to work. We’ve got to play with good structure. We’ve got to work and compete hard. Their goalie is good and we’ve got to go get him. It’s a great opportunity for our guys. We’re going to watch them play against good NHL players. They’re trying to play in the NHL. It will be a good test.
What are your early impressions from Dominic Moore?
Babcock: He’s gotten better every single day. He missed a little bit before camp and wasn’t skating. Smart guy, understands the game. He’s in a battle with some other guys here. He’s a big boy. He’s been in battles his whole career. That’s what he does. Confident guy. Knows how to play. Good person. Good to have around.
Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lines
Forwards
Leivo – Aaltonen – Brown
Rychel – Moore – Kapanen
Greening – Smith – Grundstrom
Johnsson – Fehr – Soshnikov
Defencemen
Borgman – Carrick
Rosen – Dermott
Marincin – Holl
Goalies
McElhinney
Sparks
Montreal Canadiens Projected Lines
Forwards
Pacioretty – Drouin – Gallagher
Galchenyuk – McCarron – Shaw
Terry – De La Rose – Mitchell
Carr – Holland – Froese
Defencemen
Mete – Weber
Streit – Gelinas
Davidson – Morrow
Goalies
Price
Fucale
