The Leafs are winning and learning with Rasmus Sandin and a makeshift defence
Despite six injured defencemen, the Leafs are on a roll heading into Monday night’s road trip finale in Motor City. Coach Sheldon Keefe has his theories.
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DETROIT—When Maple Leafs defenceman Rasmus Sandin fanned on a pass a few games back and the puck went straight to Sidney Crosby, he had one thought in his head.
“Well, that was the wrong guy to pass to,” Sandin deadpanned. “I had so much time. Fanned on it. I can’t go back in time; I wish I could sometimes. I was just trying to make the right play, and unlucky it was Sid. He’ll make you pay when you make those kind of mistakes.”
He did; Crosby scored.
By his own admission, Sandin hasn’t had the kind of breakthrough season that his friend, countryman and frequent defence partner Timothy Liljegren had last year.
“I haven’t been as consistent as I wanted to be,” Sandin said at the outset of a four-game road trip that ends Monday night against the Red Wings. “But at the same time, I can’t focus too much on what I have done. I need to focus on getting better and being more consistent. Every game is a new opportunity to be better.”
Never before has he had a better opportunity to show what he can do.
Injuries have sidelined three defencemen who played higher in the lineup (Morgan Rielly, Jake Muzzin, T.J. Brodie) and three more who were nipping at his heels for playing time (Jordie Benn, Filip Král and Carl Dahlström).
Rielly’s knee injury — he’s out at least four weeks — has had the biggest impact on Sandin, whose skill set has some similarities, at least offensively. In Saturday’s 4-1 win over Crosby’s Penguins in Pittsburgh, Sandin played a season-high 22:59. In Friday’s 4-3 victory in Minnesota, Sandin played in the last minute with the Wild net empty and the Leafs protecting a slim lead.
“Rasmus has ever been on the ice in the NHL with the goalie out,” said coach Sheldon Keefe. “We have guys playing in different spots and finding a way and everybody’s contributing.”
In defending that lead, Sandin also made another faux pas with the puck, though this time it didn’t end up in the Leafs net. No matter, Keefe plans to keep putting him out there.
“Those are the kind of things that you do grow from,” said Keefe. “Whether it’s the mistake itself or simply the fact that something hasn’t gone your way and you’ve got to deal with that mentally and recover, and go back out and realize ... there’s going to be another opportunity. Especially the situation we’re in here now, we need these guys (to) know they’re going to go right back over the boards again and they’re going to get another chance.”
It’s part of a next-man up mentality they’ve had to embrace out of necessity. Just 23 games into the 82-game season, the Leafs have used 11 defencemen; they used 12 all of last season.
Said Sandin: “It was a lot of fun to get that (late-game) chance ... When you get more ice time, you’re trying to be more confident.”
That’s what general manager Kyle Dubas meant when he talked recently about the bright side of the injury bug.
“It gives us a real chance to see what we have in terms of depth,” said Dubas. “It’s good for us to see where we’re at, so we can address our needs if we need to.”
