Toronto Maple Leafs: Petr Mrazek Rusty During Conditioning Stint

The Toronto Maple Leafs brought in Petr Mrazek this off-season to work in tandem with Jack Campbell. It was a move that was supposed to help lessen Campbell’s workload in an 82 game season.

Things have not worked out according to plan for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Mrazek injured his groin in his first game of the season on October 14th against the Ottawa Senators. He did not play again until October 30th against the Detroit Red Wings in a 5-4 Toronto win.

That is the last time Mrazek played a game as he had reinjured his groin. On November 7th, the Toronto Maple Leafs placed Mrazek on long-term injury reserve (LTIR) retroactive to November 4th. The team announced that Mrazek would miss approximately four weeks.

On December 3rd, the Maple Leafs assigned Mrazek to the Toronto Marlies of the AHL on an LTIR loan for a conditioning stint. He was the starting goaltender for Marlies on Sunday, December 5th, against the Laval Rocket, and things did not go well.

Toronto Maple Leafs Goaltender Petr Mrazek Conditioning Stint

During Sunday’s game against the Rocket, Mrazek allowed four goals on 26 shots. The Marlies ended up losing the game 5-1. Not all of the goals Mrazek let in were his fault, as the Marlies did not play well in front of him.

The first goal of the game was scored by Danick Martel at 4:31 of the first period. It was a goal that Mrazek should have had and would probably want back. Laval would score again on Mrazek at 2:57 of the second period to give the visitors a 2-0 lead.

The Marlies would get one back to cut the lead in half with a goal by Brett Seney. It was short-lived, as Laval scored at 10:51 of the second period. They would go into the second intermission with a 3-1 lead.

Laval would score a power-play goal on Mrazek in the third period for their fourth of the game. Being down 4-1 with five minutes left, Toronto head coach Greg Moore pulled Mrazek for an extra attacker. Laval would score on the empty net to give themselves a 5-1 lead.

Mrazek returned to the net for the final four and a half minutes to complete his first game since October 30th. Allowing four goals on 26 shots is not an ideal outing to have, but overall, Mrazek looked decent. He did make a few big save during the game to try and keep the Marlies in it, but Toronto’s defense was a disaster.