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Leafs announce Polak done for year

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Roman Polak gets helped off the ice by his Toronto teammates after a punishing hit from Washington's Brooks Orpik.

Some of the shine was knocked off Toronto’s thrilling OT win over the Caps on Saturday night, as Leafs head coach Mike Babcock announced that Roman Polak suffered a season-ending lower-body injury.

Polak was hurt following a Brooks Orpik hit late in the second period. The Leafs blueliner was sent spinning, and his right skate caught the ice and twisted under his body. Early reports suggest Polak suffered an ankle injury on the play.

It’s a significant loss for a Toronto team that was already without blueliner Nikita Zaitsev. Polak played nearly 24 minutes in the Game 1 OT loss, and routinely logs a ton of time on the penalty kill.

As for potential replacements, the Leafs do have Alexey Marchenko in reserve. Babcock could also summon a defender from the AHL Marlies.