The Canadian Press
Neil Davidson
TORONTO—Moments after his 1,000th NHL game and 546th win, Maple Leafs’ coach Mike Babcock laid out his long-range blueprint.
Asked if he had another 1,000 games in him, Babcock cited his contract with Toronto.
“Well, I’ve got this year and seven more here,” he noted.
“And then I’m going to stay for two more because the team’s going to be that good.”
If Babcock had had a hand microphone, he would have dropped it.
Instead, he wheeled around and returned to his lair after a pithy three-minute post-game wrap.
Right now it’s baby steps for the Leafs, who rallied to defeat the New Jersey Devils 3-2 last night on P.A. Parenteau’s shootout goal.
James Reimer stopped Reid Boucher, Jacob Josefson, and Lee Stempniak in the shootout.
Peter Holland and Tyler Bozak missed for the Leafs.
David Schlemko’s disputed third-period goal had seemed destined to give the Devils a 2-1 win.
But Bozak beat Keith Kinkaid with a shot from the slot with 2:06 left to tie the game.
His 10th of the season snapped a 15-game goal drought that dated back to Dec. 27.
Josefson also scored for New Jersey (26-20-6) while Shawn Matthias netted the other goal for Toronto (19-22-9).
Ever the teacher, Babcock simultaneously praised and challenged Bozak.
“I thought he had the puck all night tonight and was good . . . I still think he can be way better,” he remarked.
“We need him to be consistently competitive like he was tonight.”
As for the Leafs’ challenged attack, Babcock said simply: “We don’t finish great in general.”
But he added the team seems to be getting its confidence back, with Reimer playing a big part.
The Leafs challenged the Schlemko goal—a shot through traffic from inside the blueline at 6:27—by arguing Reimer was interfered with as Jordin Tootoo, tangled up with defenceman Morgan Rielly, cruised past the net.
But the goal stood.
Babcock, whose record stands at 546-307-19-128 is the 25th NHL coach to reach the 1,000-game mark.
He got a silver puck from his team prior to the game.
While proud of the milestone, Babcock clearly was glad it came with a win.
For a while, he acknowledged it seemed like nobody was going to score.
“Just a clogfest’” he noted.
The Leafs’ coach was the subject of a first-period video tribute to the sounds of “How You Like Me Now?” by The Heavy.
The 52-year-old Babcock, likely steaming that his team had just given up the first goal, raised his hand in a brief acknowledgment from behind the bench.
The Devils, who defeated the visiting N.Y. Rangers 3-2 on Tuesday, arrived having have won five of their last six games.
Toronto, despite winning 4-3 in overtime Tuesday in Boston, were mired in a 2-7-2 run.
The Leafs spend the next two weeks on the road with games in Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, and Chicago.
Then they’ll play five of their next six at home, starting Feb. 18 against the Rangers.
Elsewhere in the NHL, Columbus nipped Vancouver 2-1 (SO), Edmonton dumped Ottawa 7-2, the N.Y. Rangers doubled Minnesota 4-2, Chicago topped Arizona 5-4 (OT), Boston edged Buffalo 3-2 (SO), and San Jose downed St. Louis 3-1.
Philadelphia beat Nashville 6-3, Washington shaded the N.Y. Islanders 3-2, Florida dumped Detroit 6-3, Dallas edged Colorado 4-3 (OT), and Anaheim doubled L.A. 4-2.
