As the regular season comes to a close, Frederik Andersen made his return to the Toronto Maple Leafs net two months after his knee injury. He stopped 25 of 29 shots in the overtime loss against the Ottawa Senators. Jack Campbell is set to get the season finale against the Winnipeg Jets on Friday. Now that the team has their two goalies healthy, David Rittich, and Michael Hutchinson, the question becomes, who plays in the playoffs?

I can tell you right now that it won’t be Hutch, so we’re already ahead of the Avalanche from last year. The real question is Campbell vs. Andersen. I don’t think there’s a goalie controversy going on here. It’s Campbell’s net until he loses it and I don’t anticipate he will against Montreal at the least. The Leafs are in a very privileged spot with their de-facto backup with loads of experience and good results as an NHL starter.

Looking ahead to the playoffs, Jake Muzzin recently said this is the most well-rounded Leafs team in a long time. They carry a mix of abilities on offense, while still holding firm to the doctrine of speed and skill. The defense has a solid top-four and is getting deeper everyday Rasmus Sandin hits the ice. The net has the biggest question mark (and which team minus two don’t) but at least there are two guys with better odds at being Cinderella than a pumpkin.

Feel good about this team, loss in Ottawa’s Stanley Cup Final be damned. They’ll see us in the playoffs. On TV.

Various Leafs and Branches

Fulemin was too lazy to come up with an introduction, so here’s some Misc. Leafs Thoughts. | by: Fulemin

Leafs Wednesday Recap | by: Seldo

Dr. Wick, so cool.

There might have been a COVID outbreak ahead of the Toronto Marlies vs. Laval Rocket game. A few regulars were absent, including a Laval goalie and Marlies head coach Greg Moore. The game went on with Marlies goalie Andrew D’Agostini acting as backup for the other team.

The pointlessness of the game hit new lows as Nick Robertson was forced to leave early with an injury.

Apparently the Central Division playoffs is just a pair of parents fighting while their kids cry together in the AHL.

Chicago’s NHL team is being sued for damaged caused by ignoring one of their former player’s allegations of sexual assault, including the team therapist it was his fault for being the victim and not firing the coach that has since become a registered sex offender in Michigan.

“The lawsuit filed late last week in Cook County Circuit Court was brought by a player identified only as “John Doe” and accuses the team of ignoring his claims against the assistant coach, who went on to be convicted of a sex crime involving a student in Michigan and is now a registered sex offender in that state.”

Team Canada have announced their camp roster for the 2022 Olympics, and it includes some very surprising omissions.

There was a vague report late last night stating the NHL “would be inclined to participate” in a Women’s Hockey League if the PWHPA and NWHL could come together. They’ve hinted at this before without anything changing so I don’t really know what they’re trying to do here other than to sound like rich saviors. We’ll see what reporting comes out of this.

Alexander Barabanov signed a one-year extension with the San Jose sharks, one year, one-way, $1 million. Good for him! He’s a quality player and I think he just needed an opportunity on a team with a little less pressure than the Leafs and their aspirations for this season.

The New York Rangers have fired head coach David Quinn as well as his assistants. This comes after both the GM and President were fired before the end of the season.

From The Branches