Mike Babcock is expecting his team to bounce back with haste.
Following Tuesday's loss on home ice to the Carolina Hurricanes, the Toronto Maple Leafs head coach believes his team has to beat the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday.
"I expect us to find a way to win (Wednesday). The bottom line is we have to," Babcock said. "I think we have 19 points if I'm not mistaken and you've got to keep yourself in the hunt, or else you get in trouble fast in this league. It's important to bounce back. We haven't won on a back-to-back this year, it's time we win in a back-to-back and go from there."
Through 19 games, the Maple Leafs have indeed amassed 19 points by posting a record of 8-8-3. It's still early, but Toronto sits four points behind Ottawa for third place in the Atlantic Division, and three points behind Boston in the race for the second wild-card spot.
A mid-week loss to the Devils on the second half of a back-to-back in November would not be disastrous, per se, but Babcock is correct in asserting every point matters.
His plan?
"We'll get on the plane and we'll watch the game. We'll get up tomorrow and get ready for the next game. Where we play next or any of that doesn't concern me much. It's how we play and how we prepare and so we'll have to flush this and get ready for tomorrow."
Wednesday will be Toronto's first game against New Jersey this season; the Devils have two more points than the Maple Leafs with one fewer game played.
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