Toronto Maple Leafs players have been informed that they will not be participating in a road trip.
The Toronto Maple Leafs will visit the Flyers in Pennsylvania for the second time in less than a week as they prepare to go on a road trip that will include two games in two nights beginning on Tuesday.
There were several noticeable abscenes from practice at Monday’s Toronto Maple Leafs morning skate.
Superstar right winger Mitch Marner, who hasn’t been in a game since March 7 when he scored the only goal in a 4-1 loss to the Boston Bruins, was the main player absent.
Since his injury, which is said to have happened during that game, Marner has been dealing with a high ankle sprain and has not skated with the club.
Since Marner left the team, the penalty kill and powerplay have both been atrociously poor, making his absence from the starting lineup particularly apparent. The powerplay has been operating at less than five percent through the month of March, following a 50% success rate through the month of February. Since Marner has been sidelined, the Maple Leafs have lost two games, including this one on Saturday, and have let up a goal while down a man on the penalty kill.
With Auston Matthews, Keefe has chosen to move Tyler Bertuzzi and Pontus Holmberg back to the sidelines. Against the Caroline Hurricanes on Saturday night, the trio was the only line that failed to strike the back of the net. Given that neither winger is recognized for creating plays, which is the kind of player you would want with the league’s leading goal scorer, you have to wonder what the thinking behind that three is.
Ilya Lyubushkin, a recent addition, did not practice on Monday either. According to Mark Masters, the Russian defenseman is unwell and will not be traveling with the club on their forthcoming road trip.
Since returning to the team, Lyubushkin has been teamed with Morgan Rielly; now that he has been dropped from the lineup, Rielly will be paired with veteran TJ Brodie. Coach Sheldon Keefe would not remove the former Calgary Flame, who is having one of his worst seasons and is, at worst, a seventh defenseman, from the lineup.
Simon Benoit, who suffered from the recent trade deadline signings, is expected to return to the starting lineup. He will be paired with Jake McCabe once more on Philadelphia to see whether they can maintain their excellent play together, as they have been the team’s most reliable duo this season.
Calle Järnkrok was also placed on the long-term injured reserve by the Maple Leafs, meaning he won’t be able to play until April 6 at Montreal.
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