"A real unfortunate situation for Roman," Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock said Sunday. "He's a good, good man. He's a great teammate, plays hard, competes hard. Unfortunate incident, really unfortunate for him and us."
Polak averaged 2:54 of ice time per game shorthanded, the most among Toronto defensemen during the regular season. The responsibility of absorbing some of those minutes likely will fall to Martin Marincin, who also was relied on heavily to kill penalties, averaging 2:49 of ice time shorthanded in 25 regular-season games. He played 4:11 shorthanded in Game 2.
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"I really like Marty. I think Marty's a real good player," Babcock said. "I think sometimes he gets in his own way but confidence is a thing that gets in his way sometimes. He's a talented, talented guy. He might be our best penalty killer on our team but you've got to get in the lineup."
Defenseman Matt Hunwick also will see significant shorthanded ice time. He played nearly 18 minutes more in Game 2 (35:46) than the 17:58 he averaged in the regular season, with 5:02 coming shorthanded.
"He gets a lot [of credit] from me," Babcock said. "I think a lot of our players may not get as much credit outside but he gets lots internally and that's where you want it. You want it from your teammates and your coaches and your management.
"Hunwick's a key guy for us, wears an A for us, does things right every day on and off the ice. That's why we brought him here and that's what he's been able to provide. He's a real stable guy."
Defensemen Jake Gardiner (40:34), Morgan Rielly (39:56), Marincin (30:38) and Hunwick each had a season high in ice time in Game 2. Babcock said he is not concerned about the energy level of his defense, particularly Gardiner and Rielly, for Game 3.