Toronto Maple Leafs: Garret Sparks Recalled
Frederik Andersen – the Toronto Maple Leafs MVP – is injured.
Given the secretive nature of the NHL’s injury revelations, no one really knows what is injured, the severity or the length of time he’ll be out. Can the Toronto Maple Leafs survive an injury to their (currently) most important player?
Well, who knows? But, in the meantime, the Leafs chose to recall Garret Sparks.
At 10:00 am EST, the Leafs PR twitter handle announced that Lou Lamoriello and Brendan Shanahan decided to recall Sparks from the Toronto Marlies. Sparks played in 17 games for the Toronto Maple Leafs in his 2015-2016 campaign. He didn’t have good stats, but we can’t judge him too harshly since he was playing behind some pretty bad teams.
The @MapleLeafs announced today that the club has recalled goaltender Garret Sparks from the @TorontoMarlies (AHL) on an emergency basis. #TMLtalk
— Leafs PR (@LeafsPR) March 15, 2018
Since returning to the Marlies, Sparks has been great. Last season, he played 31 games for the Marlies and posted a 2.16 GAA and a .922 SV%
This season, Sparks has been outstanding for the Marlies. Currently, Sparks owns a 1.78 GAA and a .936 SV%. He’s been pivotal in the Marlies’ successful season. The Toronto Maple Leafs hope that he’ll be solid in net with Andersen out.
Tonight, Sparks will back up Curtis McElhinney per a report from Kristen Shilton of TSN.
McElhinney will face a weak Buffalo Sabres offense. The Sabres have the lowest GF/GP in the NHL with an average of 2.38 goals. In addition, their PP% is low as well. Currently, their PP% is at 16.8. Plus, the Sabres are without their all-star centreman, Jack Eichel. Eichel is suffering from an ankle injury that he sustained in a matchup with the Boston Bruins in February. All together, it should be a comfortable matchup for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
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While Sparks is with the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Toronto Marlies will rely on Calvin Pickard to be the starting net-minder. Pickard was acquired last fall in a trade with the Vegas Golden Knights.
Andersen Injury Update
Andersen sustained an injury in the second period of last night’s affair with the Dallas Stars. After a check from Roman Polak, Alex Radulov of the Dallas Stars collided with Andersen. Andersen was quickly taken out of the game and replaced by Curtis McElhinney. McElhinney kept the Toronto Maple Leafs in the game and was named the third star.
The Toronto Maple Leafs haven’t identified the specific injury that Andersen is suffering from, though it looked like Radulov fell on his arm. If there is good news, it’s that he didn’t immediately leave the game.
Hopefully, Andersen won’t be on the shelf for too long. Fortunately, the Toronto Maple Leafs are all but assured a third place finish in the Atlantic and there is no reason to rush him back.
stats from NHL.com