Mike Babcock addressed the media after the team’s final game of the regular season, a 4-2 win that swept the season series against Montreal, clinched a franchise record for points in a season (105), and secured another franchise record for wins in a season by a goaltender for Frederik Andersen (38).
On overcoming a slow start and getting a result, along with a franchise record for Andersen:
We weren’t very good, obviously, through two periods. We found a way to win. Real good for Freddy. I think it’s fantastic for him to have the Leaf record. I think it’s a real big deal for him. He’s been a huge part of our team since he’s come here. To have that record is a special, special thing. Guys were pumped for him and proud of him. That was special.
On how much better prepared the team is for the playoffs this time around:
I think significantly better. We don’t know who we’re playing. I was hoping we would know here tonight. But both teams are very good hockey clubs. We’re in for a great test and it should be a lot of fun. We really feel we’ve got a good hockey club and we’re going to have a good opportunity. Now we’ve got to get prepared.
We’ve got a day off tomorrow. We’ve had lots of days off. And then we’ve got three days and we’re going to go every day. We should be ready to go. We’re excited about our opportunity.
On whether the team is hitting the playoffs playing good hockey like last year:
I don’t think we’ve been on the top of our game the last few games but we’ve played lots of real good hockey. The intensity of the last two nights wasn’t at the level, at the start of the game, that you wanted it to be. It’s not like we didn’t try to manufacture anything; we did, but we just didn’t have it. I think that’ll all go away, and then you’ve got to execute.
The goalie has got to be good. The D has got to be good. The forwards — we’ve got good depth — have got to be good. We’ve got to make plays. But it should be a lot of fun and we will be prepared.
On Zach Hyman’s improvements in his second year in the league:
They’re all better players. Matty made a nice play. I think Gards passed it to Matty and he just hammered it off the goalie and he was there for the rebound. I think Hyman — if I’m not mistaken — got 40 points. I think that was his 40th point tonight. 40 points is a lot of points. It takes you some time in this league to find confidence, unless you’re Matty or Willy or Mitch — they’re a little bit different. But for the rest of the people, it takes time. I think he’s done a real nice job for us. He’s just getting better.
On the Matthews-Nylander power play unit heating up at the right time of year:
Obviously, they got some goals here and they’re starting to feel it. The biggest thing is they’re all not stick-handling the puck anymore like they were. They’re just moving it around and have puck speed and they can shoot the puck. I thought [Andreas Johnsson] really helped them when he played with them as a real good man in the middle. We seem to be doing a good job on that group, which is nice. You want to have two dangerous groups.
On having to wait until the final night of the season tomorrow, and the Florida vs. Boston result, to know who the team is playing in Round 1:
We’ve been doing it for a while. We’ve been dialled in on both teams. Obviously, we are going in tomorrow morning to get ready and giving the players a day off, but now, we don’t know what to do. The game is at 7:30 tomorrow night, so instead of working in the morning, we’ll work at night.
On setting so many franchise records just two years after forecasting pain for the team during its rebuild:
Pain… normally what happens with a young team is, you get into the playoffs, and then you start thinking you might be one of the favourites. Who knows what happens to our team this summer? You end up having some playoff failures and everyone is telling you how bad you are, and then you fight through that and find a way.
This winning the ultimate prize is not an easy thing. As much as we are now a team in the league that looks like a good hockey club, you’ve got to do it year after year after year, and you’ve got to be a team that can win at playoff time. Lots of times, the teams that win in the regular season aren’t the teams that win at playoff time. There is only one team that gets to win. It’s a grind. I’m prepared for that totally. It’s not going to be easy.
On Travis Dermott’s performance in his first game back after injury:
In the first period, or after that? Obviously, when you don’t play, it takes you some time. It took him some time. The one thing about Dermy is he has confidence. It doesn’t seem to rattle him. But they were getting some quality chances there with him on the ice there for a few shifts, and he got through that and got playing.
On the difficulty of making the playoffs year in, year out in light of an example like Montreal, who went from 103 points to 29th in the NHL:
I coached in Detroit there for ten years and made it all ten years. We were the only team in the NHL that did. To me, when you look at that, that is what parity has done, right? If you come off of it a little bit, you get the wrong injury, or you have goaltending problems, or specialty team problems, you can miss. The idea is to build a team so good, with so much depth, that you are in every year just because you’re so deep.
Last year, we couldn’t afford any injuries to get in. We could afford a few more this year. Now, we’ve got some free agents this year, so are we going to be as good next year? I don’t know the answer to that. The big thing is we don’t have to worry about next year. We’re playing right now. Let’s dig in and see what we can get done.
