Toronto Maple Leafs: Getting Healthy with 13 Games Remaining
The Toronto Maple Leafs have 13 games remaining in the 2022-23 regular season. They have been dealing with some injuries lately, but there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel.
Both players the Toronto Maple Leafs added at the NHL trade deadline from St. Louis, Ryan O’Reilly, and Noel Acciari, have gotten hurt.
While O’Reilly is out for a few weeks, he will be returning before the end of the regular season. He will have the chance to play a few games and get back up to speed in time for the playoffs.
Toronto brought O’Reilly in to make a difference and help Toronto be a better playoff team. His return to the lineup will be on either April 8th against the Montreal Canadiens or April 10th against the Florida Panthers.
Toronto Maple Leafs Looking Forward to Healthy Lineup
Noel Acciari has been a sparkplug in Toronto’s lineup since joining. In 13 games with the Maple Leafs, Acciari has three goals, ten blocked shots, and has 43 hits. He also has seven takeaways compared to two giveaways. His energy is noticeable, and you can see his teammates feeding off of that energy. (Stats from hockey-reference.com)
On Friday, in a game against the Carolina Hurricanes, Acciari got hurt by a hit to the head by Jesse Puljujarvi. He did not return in that game, and he missed Saturday’s game against the Ottawa Senators.
The Leafs received some good news on Monday as Acciari returned to full practice. He practiced on the fourth line with Zach Aston-Reese and David Kampf.
Having O’Reilly and Acciari in the lineup for a first-round matchup is crucial to Toronto finding playoff success.
O’Reilly offers Toronto strength up the middle as the third-line center behind Auston Matthews and John Tavares. Acciari brings the type of physicality needed in the playoffs, as well as a good defensive player. They both know what their roles are and will play to their strengths.
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Toronto’s second last game of the season will be against the Tampa Bay Lightning on April 11th. The Lightning will be the Tpronto Maple Leafs first-round opponent in the playoffs. It could be a benchmark game to set the tone for what will happen one week later. Having Acciari and O’Reilly play in the game to help set the tone will be important.