There will be no Battle of Ontario in the first round of the NHL playoffs.
James van Riemsdyk scored twice, but the Toronto Maple Leafs dropped their regular-season finale 3-2 to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday and are to face the Washington Capitals in the opening round of their first post-season since 2013.
Had they earned even a point, the Leafs would have faced the Ottawa Senators in the first round, but instead they get the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Capitals.
“We’ve drawn a real good team and we’re going to find out what playoff hockey is in a hurry,” Leafs coach Mike Babcock said. “We’re going to find out that it’s way different than regular-season hockey.”
Nine Leafs are likely to make their post-season debuts in Game 1, including the high-performing rookie trio of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander. Another handful, including Jake Gardiner, Nazem Kadri and Tyler Bozak, have just a single playoff series under their belts, that one coming during the Leafs’ last playoff appearance in 2013.
Babcock, perhaps not surprisingly, plans to spend lots of time before Thursday’s opener in Washington detailing for his group what exactly is different about playoff hockey.
“They’re not going to believe me and then it’s going to happen,” Babcock said.
The difference?
“No space. Zero. Battle for every inch of ice, from the opening face-off to the end,” said Babcock, who’s coached 144 playoff games in the NHL.
The upstart Blue Jackets are also getting ready for a post-season series. They face defending Stanley Cup champions the Pittsburgh Penguins.
“I am sure they’re going to be ready to play,” Columbus coach John Tortorella said of his team.
“What the result’s going to be, I don’t know, but this team’s going to have some fun. Now it’s time to have some fun, and just let them go and play,” he said.
Curtis McElhinney made 29 saves, but Toronto let a 2-0 lead melt away in a porous second period.
Matt Calvert, Josh Anderson and Cam Atkinson scored in the comeback for Columbus. Joonas Korpisalo stopped 30 shots for the Jackets.
Asked about pressure on his young team heading into the playoffs on Sunday morning, Leafs coach Mike Babcock deflected with apparent aim at the Capitals.
“You have nerves when you win the Presidents’ Trophy and you’re playing a real good team in the first round,” Babcock said. “That’s when it’s a totally different program, though. We’re so far away from that program though. We’ve got two years left before that happens.”
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