TORONTO — Given the chance, Toronto Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock would not explain why he’s handing the baton to Garret Sparks Monday night versus the Los Angeles Kings.
“Sparky’s starting,” he said of the only lineup change from the squad that defeated the champion Washington Capitals Saturday night to extend the Leafs’ win streak to four games.
Asked why Frederik Andersen is getting an extra night off — a sharp deviation from a predictable pattern Babcock established in 2016-17 — the coach was quick to snuff out that line of questioning: “Sparky’s going tonight.”
Since acquiring Andersen two years ago, Monday would signal the very first time Toronto has started its backup goaltender in a non-back-to-back situation if Andersen is healthy.
(Update: A couple hours before puck drop, the club announced that Andersen is day-to-day with a knee injury. With the Marlies’ Kasimir Kaskisuo injured over the weekend, Toronto made an emergency recall of ECHL prospect Eamon McAdam.)
The philosophy here could be to keep Andersen fresher for the post-season, and/or to quickly discover if Sparks can cut it at the highest level.
Andersen, whom Auston Matthews touted as “a brick wall” in Saturday’s 4-2 victory, did participate in Monday’s morning skate and showed no signs of injury.
“Freddie made some good saves, which was good to see,” Babcock said post-game Saturday. “They got one on the power play from the side on a really good [Evgeny Kuznetsov] shot. Other than that, I thought he was really solid.”
The Leafs’ undisputed No. 1 goalie made 66 starts in each of his first two campaigns with the team — more than any other goalie in the East. The big Dane has always embraced that heavy workload, but when teams are confident they’ll be heading to the playoffs, there is a danger in overworking your top netminder.
None of the past six Stanley Cup–winning goaltenders made more than 57 regular-season appearances, let alone starts.
It’s Oct. 15 and Sparks is already making his second showing.
By point of comparison, last year’s backup, Curtis McElhinney, waited until Oct. 18 for his first start and Nov. 2 for his second. The journeyman patiently waited as long as over a month between appearances for Toronto.
McElhinney, Babcock’s thinly veiled preference to back up this season, was scooped by the Carolina Hurricanes off waivers at the end of training camp and has gone 3-0-0 with his new club.
The classy veteran reached out to congratulate Sparks, his replacement, on salvaging a 7-6 overtime win in Chicago last week.
“It’s nice to know that the guy you know some people wish was here instead of you still supports you,” Sparks told NHL writer Dave McCarthy Monday. “I didn’t expect anything different, though, from him.”
[relatedlinks]
Sparks, 25, was named the AHL’s top goaltender last season, and GM Kyle Dubas is giving him an opportunity to stick at the NHL level through the tutelage of goalie coach Steve Briere and a much higher calibre of shot accuracy in practice.
Had the Leafs waited until the next back-to-back to give Sparks a nod, he’d have to wait 34 days between starts, until Nov. 10 in Boston.
“You’ve done it in the American Hockey League,” Babcock said. “Now you’ve got to do it in the National Hockey League. There’s a big difference in the league and the shooters.”
On paper, the Maple Leafs’ early defensive numbers aren’t pretty, no matter the starter. Toronto ranks first in goals scored (29) but 30th in goals allowed (22) and 27th in save percentage (.878).
“They’re putting up a lot of goals,” Kings defenceman Drew Doughty said. “I think they’re still letting in quite a few, too.”
