Maple Leafs forced to once again rally behind Jake Gardiner

The Toronto Maple Leafs surely didn’t expect to be here, in mild despondence after a relatively meaningless loss in mid-January, having to once again come to the defence of Jake Gardiner — maybe the most popular guy in the room.

But one of those occasional off nights turned pretty sour when a series of unconfident plays from Gardiner reached an ugly crescendo with Carl Soderberg shrugging the Leafs defenceman off in a foot race before scoring short-handed to give the Avalanche the 3-2 lead in a game they would eventually win 6-3.

Gardiner was booed by a select group of fans for the remainder of the night after his power-play gaffe, and wasn’t able to conceal his emotions in the Leafs room after the game.

“That hasn’t happened before — that’s for sure,” he said. “Not something you want to hear, but plays happen in the game, fans are passionate.”

What struck him most was word that the rest of the Leafs came out in staunch defence of him as a teammate and player.

“Those are the guys you play for, so… it’s good.”

Mitch Marner said he didn’t hear the boos from the fans, but was pretty upset himself when informed of what was going on.

“The guy does everything for this team. People don’t give him enough credit, ever. He does (a lot) for us out there. It’s pretty disappointing to hear that,” Marner said.

“That guy means a lot to this team — not just on the ice but off it as well. For the young guys, when we came in here, he was the one that talked to us right away. He’s a big part of this team.”

Lifting Gardiner is something the Leafs have had to do before.

The puck mover was devastated after a poor performance in Game 7 versus the Boston Bruins in the Round 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs last spring, saying the minus-five night was “up there” among the worst moments of his life.

Morgan Rielly led the charge when the Leafs rallied around him then, and echoed the same sentiments on Monday.

“Jake’s a great player. He’s been a great player for this team for eight years now, maybe more. He comes to work every day like a pro, works hard, his teammates love him,” he said.

“Guys make mistakes out there. That’s the way the game is. You play on ice. Things happen. It can be unpredictable.”

Unfortunately, the reaction from some fans when it comes to Gardiner, even on Night No. 45, has become far too predictable.

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