UPDATE: Leafs goalie James Reimer left the game against Carolina in the opening minute after colliding with teammate Josh Leivo. Reimer was corralling a rebound and came out of his net, when Leivo made contact with Reimer in the head/neck area.
Reimer was slow to get up, but left the ice under his own power. He was replaced by Jonathan Bernier.
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The Maple Leafs look to win their fourth game in a row and third straight at home as they face the Carolina Hurricanes the Air Canada Center Thursday night.
Toronto leads the Eastern Conference with a 6-1 record and will look to play better defensively, as they lead the NHL by a wide margin with 119 giveaways and have struggled in their own end the last two games, allowing five goals against Edmonton last Saturday and allowing 37 shots against Minnesota in a 4-1 win on Tuesday.
Winger James van Riemsdyk , who skated with the club yesterday and but left practice early due to discomfort, is suffering from back spasms and was declared out by head coach Randy Carlyle after an optional skate at the ACC Thursday morning.
“Every team in the league has their fair share of injuries.” Carlyle said. “For us, we have some young kids now that are stepping into the lineup and are getting an opportunity to show us what they have and they’re trying to earn the trust of the coaching staff.”
James Reimer had his best outing of the young season making 36 stops against the Wild and will make his second start in a row against the Hurricanes, who have lost their last three games and are 2-2-3 on the season. Veteran Cam Ward, who made 34 saves in a 3-2 shootout loss to Chicago, will be between the pipes for Carolina.
The Leafs are expected to stay with the same lineup that played against Minnesota, with Mason Raymond filling in for van Riemsdyk on the top line with Tyler Bozak and Phil Kessel, rookie David Broll playing with Joffrey Lupul and Nazem Kadri and rookie Josh Leivo alongside Dave Bolland and Jay McClement.
Defenseman Mark Fraser continues to be out with an injured knee, winger Frazer McLaren has begun skating and is a couple weeks away from his broken finger from being completely healed and Nikolai Kulemin, out almost two weeks with a bone chip in his right ankle, is still wearing a protective boot and has not resumed skating, according to Michael Traikos of the National Post.
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