Mike Babcock, Maple Leafs still embroiled in feeling-out process

Heading into Friday’s game, Leafs head coach Mike Babcock said every game is an exam for his players. It’s all about seeing if you learned anything from your teacher.

When the Columbus Blue Jackets fell to 0-3, their GM said that his team was “off the rails“. When the final horn sounded, Leaf captain Dion Phaneuf collected the puck to award it to their coach. Babcock said he has been impressed by a few and not so much by others.

“What I need for the group is to reinforce that what we’re doing is good”, said Babcock. “There’s been a lot of positive things that have happened when I arrived here and I’m thrilled with the direction we are going. We’ve got tons of work to do, but it’s always nice to win”. “You look at the way that the people of Toronto got behind the team and the players, it’s just really exciting”.

However, the goal isn’t to make him attractive enough simply to be moevable – Toronto could’ve done so last year had they assumed a healthy portion of his contract (which has another four years to go after this season at a $7 million salary cap hit) – but to maximize the return on the investment they’ve made. I got to be with the Leafs right up to the end. “It’s a tough time”, Bobrovsky told reporters earlier in the week.

Leafs forwards Shawn Matthias and Michael Grabner recorded their first points with the team – Matthias assisted on Nazem Kadri’s goal; Grabner on Leo Komarov’s empty-netter.

Ryan Johansen, who has a team-best five points for the Jackets, has six goals and three assists in seven career games against Toronto.

Columbus opened the scoring when Leafs forward Nick Spaling lost a defensive zone faceoff. The Blue Jackets took a 1-0 lead at 3:47 of the first period, when right winger Cam Atkinson’s off-balance wrist shot from the blue line deflected off Jenner in front of the net and shot past Reimer.

The Leafs were scattered inside the Rogers Centre, with Rielly and Jake Gardiner sitting several rows above the Jays dugout and Boyes sitting with friends and family. Coming into Friday’s game versus the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Russian netminder had given up 18 goals on 106 shots. Only 78 seconds later, it was 3-1 when Kadri scored through traffic on wrister.

That resiliency and patience was on full display on the winning goal by Joffrey Lupul. His innocent shot in close from the wing that easily beat Bobrovsky for the eventual game-winner.

“I had good position, but I didn’t have anything to shoot at and I waited”, said Lupul. “Probably, a play that he would like to have back”. In Columbus, he busted out for his second-ever multi-goal game. “You can’t be happy with three games in three losses, that’s what I mean”, Komarov said. But centre Tyler Bozak missed part of the second period with a lower body injury and departed for good two shifts into the third.

“I think he’s fine, (but) I’m not 100 percent certain”, Babcock said of Bozak’s status. “They’ve been intense. We’ll be ready to go”. “If I score a goal, I’d help the team a lot”.

If Bernier continues to have rough starts as he did against Montreal and Detroit, you could see the two goalies splitting duty instead of Mike Babcock going to Reimer for most of the starts. Daniel Winnik added three assists, Morgan Rielly had two, and James Reimer finished with 24 saves.