Roman Polak, who suffered a season-ending injury in Toronto’s Game 2 win over Washington, will go under the knife today to repair his right leg, head coach Mike Babcock announced.
Polak suffered the injury following a hit late in the second period from Caps d-man Brooks Orpik. Polak was sent spinning, and his right skate caught the ice and twisted under his body. Early reports suggest he suffered an ankle injury on the play.
Brooks Orpik reached out to Roman Polak this morning after accidentally ending his season: "I don't think I've ever seen him stay down."
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) April 17, 2017
Losing Polak was a pretty significant blow. He was a steady lineup presence for the Leafs this year, appearing in 75 games while averaging just under 18 minutes per night. Polak also played nearly 24 minutes in Toronto’s Game 1 OT loss, and routinely logged a ton of time on the penalty kill.
With Polak out, Nikita Zaitsev returned to the Leafs lineup in Game 3 and played quite a bit, skating 20:22 in his playoff debut.
Watch Capitals vs. Maple Leafs: Game 4 on Wednesday (7 p.m. ET, NBCSN, NBC Sports app)