The Toronto Maple Leafs continue their road-trip tonight in Calgary against the Flames.
Against the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday night, the Toronto Maple Leafs broke a three-game losing streak and celebrated the return of Matthew Knies and John Tavares. Unfortunately, the celebration was short lived as two other members of the team are now injured.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson left Saturday's game after the first period, and Marner was absent from practice on Monday.
When asked about the player's status in regard to the game against the Flames tonight, Head Coach Craig Berube said they were game time decisions (The Hockey News on MSN) and it was noted that Marner did not report any injury during Saturday's game against the Edmonton Oilers.
The Toronto Maple Leafs Visit Calgary, but Someone Vital May Not Be On The Ice.
During the practice, Max Domi took Mitch Marner's spot in the first line, alongside Captain Auston Matthews and Matthews Knies. If Marner doesn't return to the ice today, can Domi contribute enough to keep the Leafs going? Considering Max Domi's 19-game dry-spell, that's rather unlikely.
However, it is worth mentioning that Matthews and Domi were paired up last season for about twenty games, and during this time, Max Domi scored at an impossible rate of close to 4 points per 60 minutes of 5v5 ice-time.
During that time, former Head Coach Sheldon Keefe liked what he saw enough to keep that pairing in the playoffs. Domi has a "pass-first" strategy that seems to pair well with Auston Matthews unique ability to score from anywhere.
Although Domi has had a bad season, it's been weird that the Leafs haven't used him in the one spot that made it make sense for them to re-sign him last summer. Domi has been bad at centre, and when Berube moved him to the wing last week, it was with Tavares, not Matthews.
Although Marner's return to the ice is unclear ahead of tonight's game against Calgary, the Toronto point leader (with 70 on the season so far) and top playmaker's hockey-IQ will surely be missed if he is out. To date, the Leafs have gone 20-17-5 without Marner in the lineup, and a much better record when he plays.
The Toronto Maple Leafs currently have a 4-game win streak against the Calgary Flames. After breaking their 3-game losing streak Saturday against the Oilers in the start of this away stretch, hopefully they can keep that momentum going tonight.