An unlikely hero struck first for the Maple Leafs when Roman Polak wired a slap shot towards the Calgary Flames goaltender Mike Smith. The puck was sailing wide when it hit a player in the rear end and then deflected yet again off a shin pad of another Calgary player and ended up in the back of the net.

Lady luck was on the Leafs side to start the game, but so was Frederik Andersen making a number of huge saves throughout this game. Andersen was fantastic in Calgary and has certainly settled into the season and is thriving in the Leafs number one spot as he’s only in the second season of his five year contract.

The Leafs took care of the Flames and held a 3-1 lead until the dying seconds of the game when Leo Komarov shot the puck into the empty net with a slick little backhand over the defenders stick.

Toronto is now 7-2-1 in their last ten games.

Next up the Leafs will play against the Edmonton Oilers tomorrow evening.

The Oilers will host the Leafs and you can bet both Auston Matthews and Connor McDavid will want to have a big showing. Matthews has been dangerous as always but may still be nursing the injury he endured a couple weeks ago. The depth up front has been helpful as the Leafs won four games in a row with Matthews injured and have continuously been able to score goals even with players like Marner, Nylander and to some extent Bozak and Komarov scoring goals. Marner had his stint on the fourth line and it just may be time for Nylander to have a few games working hard on the fourth line. It happened last season for Willam and it got him moving his feet more and that’s when he went on a tear and had that crazy ten game point streak.

Babcock has his wise coaching ways of knowing his players and how to push the right buttons for each specific player. He’s paid the big bucks to make the big decisions and in turn is responsible for the results. I’m all for having a player take a new look for a couple of games on another line to try and spark them. It’s not always a demotion either, a player like Brown who has worked hard all season is well deserving of a look in the top six while Nylander, Marner or another player plays reduced minutes for a handful of games.

What do you think about Babcock giving players like Marner and Nylander time on the fourth line?

Thanks for reading,

Enjoy the rest of your day.

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