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Kronwall received a boarding minor on the play, but the Leafs didn’t score with the man advantage.

Detroit won the game 5-4 in overtime after the Leafs erased a 4-1 Wings lead in the third period.

There has been hand-wringing among some observers that the Leafs didn’t seek retribution on Kronwall.

Morgan Rielly made an effort to get at the Wing but was held up by Gustav Nyquist. Other Leafs on the ice at the time included Kasperi Kapanen, Andreas Johnsson and Ron Hainsey.

Does coach Mike Babcock expect a reaction from other Leafs when a player of Matthews’ ilk takes such a hit?

“I just think you look at our personnel and you look (at) what we got,” Babcock said. “We are what we are. Our toughness is our power play. Take all the penalties you want.”

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Difficult to argue with the coach on that point. The Leafs’ power play, though 0-for-4 against Detroit, is clipping along at 26.7%, good for sixth-best in the NHL prior to games on Friday.

Matthews said he had not seen a replay of the check.

“Stuff like that is going to happen,” Matthews said. “You’re battling, sometimes you think a play is dirty and maybe it’s not, or maybe a play doesn’t seem so dirty and you watch it on replay and it is. I have not seen it, but we got a power play from it.”

Quite frankly, those who think Babcock and general manager Kyle Dubas should be teaming up to find a policeman-type player for the Leafs haven’t been paying attention. The emphasis in Toronto is on quick, talented forwards who have the ability to score at a moment’s notice.