By HOWARD BERGER
***A SOURCE WHO WAS AROUND THE LEAFS’ BENCH AREA ON SATURDAY NIGHT HAS PHONED TO SAY THAT HE SAW JASON BLAKE COME OFF THE ICE DURING THE WARM-UP IN A LOT OF PAIN, FAVORING A FOOT. PERHAPS THAT IS WHEN BLAKE “BLOCKED” THE SHOT COACH PAUL MAURICE SPOKE ABOUT EARLIER TODAY***
TORONTO (Nov. 19) — It ranked among the more awkward and unusual moments in the normal routine of covering the Maple Leafs… Jason Blake, after missing the club’s practice session this morning at Lakeshore Arena, was seen getting ready for a shower and, later, he emerged fully clothed from the players’ vanity area in the rear part of the dressing room. While staring at a large swarm of reporters waiting to speak with him, Blake paused to chat with media relations coordinator James Lamont, then proceeded to walk straight past the cameras, microphones and notepads as if the people holding these items were invisible. Asking Blake the obvious — if he had a moment to explain why he was not on the ice — the winger replied, “I’ve got to pick up my son” and disappeared from the building. It was rather odd behaviour from a fellow that has been mostly cooperative in his short time with the Maple Leafs.
As such, the explaining was left to coach Paul Maurice, who said that Blake “blocked a shot” in Saturday night’s impressive win over Ottawa and was going to have himself checked out. And that barring any surprises in the exam, he fully expects Blake to be in the line-up for tomorrow night’s game against Boston at the Air Canada Centre. This was emphasized by Maurice’s strategy during the hour-long skate. Instead of disrupting all of his forward units, the coach simply placed part-timer Bates Battaglia in Blake’s spot alongside Mats Sundin and Alexei Ponikarovsky. If Blake does suit up against the Bruins, Battaglia will obviously slide back into his fourth-line role. Should it be discovered that Blake has a more serious injury, Maurice will juggle his lines, and likely put one of Nik Antropov or Darcy Tucker on the No. 1 unit.
Winger Chad Kilger will skip his second consecutive game, after sitting out Saturday night’s impressive win over Ottawa with an ankle injury incurred during practice on Friday. Kilger stayed off the ice again today, and Maurice believes that resting him against the Bruins should have him “back and feeling 100 percent” for the club’s next game — Friday night in Dallas.
Meanwhile, familiar defence-mates Tomas Kaberle and Bryan McCabe were together again in the workout after they looked extremely comfortable against the Sens. While many fans and media go to extremes wondering about forward line combinations, not nearly as much is pondered about defense pairings. But, Maurice said that blueline combinations are even more important, “especially against other team’s really top-end [forward lines]. When you play against a line like [Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley], you don’t have time to communicate on the ice; it just has to be reaction. And, if you better understand what will most likely happen with your partner, you have a better chance of defending. I like what we saw with [Bryan and Tomas], and they will stay together.”
Barring injury or illness, Vesa Toskala will face the Bruins, coming off his first shutout in a Maple Leafs’ jersey.
