Toronto Maple Leafs Getting Healthy at the Right Time

The Toronto Maple Leafs could have a completely healthy lineup for Game 1 in the first round of the NHL playoffs. If not completely healthy, it will be as close as possible.

The NHL playoffs start on Monday, May 2nd, and the Toronto Maple Leafs only have one more regular-season game left. They will host the Boston Bruins on Friday, April 29th, but with home-ice clinched in round one, Toronto might rest some of their stars.

As the team starts to prepare themselves for the playoffs, they are happy to be getting some players back from injury.

It began with getting defenseman Jake Muzzin back on Tuesday against the Detroit Red Wings. Muzzin missed the previous six games with an injury but looked good in his return.

Toronto Maple Leafs Getting Injured Players Back

Jonas Siegel reported an update from Toronto head coach Sheldon Keefe on the status of injured players. Keefe gave updates to Siegel and the rest of the media on Michael Bunting, Ondrej Kase, and Rasmus Sadin.

Michael Bunting

Bunting injured his leg in Saturday night’s game against the Florida Panthers. The good news is that he was skating before the team’s practice on Tuesday. Keefe said Bunting is not returning before the playoffs. Hopefully, he will be ready to go for Game 1 next week.

Rasmus Sandin

Sandin suffered a knee injury on March 19th in a game against the Nashville Predators. He was back skating with the team on Tuesday before attending some medical appointments. Keefe said that if all goes well, Sandin should be in the lineup on Friday.

It would be nice if Sandin could get one game in before the playoffs start. He can shake off any rust after being out for six weeks. Getting him back would also give Toronto a fully healthy defense for round one.

Ondrej Kase

Sheldon Keefe did not give much of an update on Kase, only that he is day-to-day. Kase was skating with the team on Tuesday in a regular practice jersey. Seeing him no longer needing the red (no contact) jersey is a good sign.

Petr Mrazek

There is no timetable for Petr Mrazek to return, but he has started on-ice drills with staff. Toronto will likely begin the playoffs with the tandem of Jack Campbell and Erik Kallgren. With Mrazek’s history of injuries, it would be in his and the team’s best interest not to rush him back.

It is good to see most of our injured players returning when we need them the most. A healthy lineup in the playoffs is a luxury that not many teams get. If Toronto wants to end the drought and get through to the second round, they need a healthy lineup.