TORONTO — Bobby McMann wasn’t even supposed to be wearing his hockey gear Tuesday night.
Yet there he was — that small-town, softspoken, quick-smile, undrafted, cut-from-camp late-bloomer — getting the tap on the shoulder with an empty net way down the other end and the unlikeliest of hat tricks floating in the ether.
Less than two minutes to go.
The Toronto Maple Leafs won the draw. Mark Giordano passed the puck into McMann’s right skate, which he kicked to his left-curved blade and banked off the neutral-zone boards with hardly enough pep to ricochet down the ice and across the St. Louis Blues goal line before a chasing Torey Krug could sweep it out.
“That was pretty cool,” McMann beamed following a 4-1 win, his teeth shining bright as the player-of-the-game wrestling belt stuffed in his stall.
“Dramatic, call it, with the pace of that puck sliding into the net. I didn’t know if it had the right angle or what, but it was pretty cool to see it go in.”
Right on the button.
“I did curl a little bit in high school but not efficient. I’d probably be better with the puck than the rock.”
Thing is, this was a Maple Leafs lineup designed to crash like hack weight.
Seven of the players who dressed Tuesday did not make the team out of training camp. Three members of the Core Five were MIA.
No Morgan Rielly, who was suspended five games minutes before puck drop.
No John Tavares, who skipped morning skate due to illness and called in sick around 4 p.m.
And no Mitch Marner, who originally showed up at the rink intending to play but, also sick, pulled the chute around 4:40 p.m., prompting a rapid recall of Marlies forward Alex Steeves (thank goodness for having an AHL affiliate in the same city).
A couple other Leafs were feeling under the weather, too, but decided to press on.
It wasn’t until McMann, slated to be a healthy scratch, showed up for the club’s morning meeting that he learned there was a chance he might draw in for the captain and began prepping to go in… just in case.
Naturally, Toronto’s most depleted lineup of the season — down its best D-man, top-line winger, and second-best centre — delivered its stingiest defensive performance, limiting the Blues to a measly 15 shots and leading the proceedings wire to wire.
“Everyone knew the big losses that those guys are,” Jake McCabe said. “But just to try to rise to the occasion and everyone just pitch in.
“Obviously, not one person is going to take the load of it — even though Bobby, frankly, kind of did tonight. I was super excited for him and excited for our group to have a complete performance like that.”
Clearly, the previously hot Blues were hardly at their best, struggling to generate meaningful scoring chances or mount sustained momentum.
But a hard-work tone was set early by the Maple Leafs’ depth forwards.
Suddenly absent of $29.4 million worth of skill, the Leafs kept things simple, shared the burden, and dug in.
McMann won a puck battle and stuffed a puck past Jordan Binnington with an attacking net drive.
Noah Gregor was pumping his legs and drew a penalty.
Max Domi, elevated to 2C, was a buzzsaw, creating dangerous looks and skating a whopping 18:03, his most as a Leaf.
Nick Robertson stole four pucks and backchecked with his hair on fire.
McMann got rewarded a second time by gathering an off-kilter puck and whipping it to the net, but he also threw five hits and blocked a couple shots.
“He’s trying to learn to grab on to a role in the league. He can score; he’s done that in the American League. But it’s been a challenge in the NHL,” Keefe said of the game’s surprise star.
“You’re not going to get a hat trick every night. So, you’ve got to work on all the other things: be physical, be defensively responsible, be trusted, be able to kill penalties, and all things that can keep you in the league. Different players figure it out at different times.
“Today’s a great night to give him some confidence and life. And to kind of stay in the fight here for one of those jobs.”
Added McCabe: “I’m pumped for him. I mean, you hear a lot of stories like that in the NHL, of guys taking advantage of opportunity. Bobby didn’t even know he was playing tonight showing up to the rink today. He goes out there and comes up big for us. And it wasn’t just Bobby. Frankly, you go up and down the lineup — everyone contributed. So, it was really good to see.”
Good. And — with Rielly out another four, and Tavares and Marner questionable — necessary.
A tense, strange day in Leafland began with a cancelled trip to New York for the hearing, dragged into a long wait for the Rielly verdict, and got complicated by the dressing room’s spreading sickness.
So, it was refreshing for McMann to get squirted by his teammates’ water bottles in celebration and to be the target of lighthearted chirps after his opposite-of-slapshot empty-netter crossed the line.
“Guys are saying this is the standard now: ‘You gotta get three every game,’” McMann smiled.
“Just all fun. Guys are happy with me, which I appreciate.”
Fox’s Fast Five
• Whew. The illness Marner and Tavares are dealing with is “flu-like” and not believed related to Conor Timmins’ mono, which could have him unavailable for weeks.
In other injury news, the Leafs shifted Calle Järnkrok from IR to long-term injured reserve. He’ll miss five more games minimum.
“Järny is one of the most underrated guys on our team. He’s so versatile,” Nick Robertson says. “It sucks having him out of the lineup because he’s so valuable. But also it’s an opportunity for other guys that aren’t getting [the opportunities]he gets to take advantage.”
• That Rielly’s suspension is a five-gamer means the Maple Leafs can appeal only to the commissioner.
The defenceman will lose $195,312.50 in salary and can return Feb. 22 in Las Vegas, giving Toronto a jolt during the second half of next week’s back-to-back on the road.
• St. Louis interim coach Drew Bannister was born in Belleville, cut his teeth behind OHL benches in Owen Sound and Sault Ste. Marie, and is an Ontario guy through and through.
“Living not too far away from here, growing up in Sudbury, watching the Toronto Maple Leafs, having a lot of friends and family down here, it’s gonna be a bit emotional tonight,” Bannister said pre-game.
• Tyler Bertuzzi may never score again.
Binnington stoned him on a breakaway. He pinged a post in tight. He missed the net on two clean slot setups by Domi. And his rare shot on the top power-play unit went for naught. Seven more attempts and still snakebit.
The $5.5-million winger’s goal drought extends to 18 games. He has lit the lamp just once in his past 31 games.
• Meanwhile, in Kanata, Ont….
With another goal Tuesday, Ridly Greig has goals in consecutive games for the first time in his NHL career.
