The Toronto Maple Leafs won both games of the home-and-home weekend with the Buffalo Sabres, but the victories came at a terrible cost, as three more players left the 3-2 shootout victory Sunday night at Air Canada Center with injuries.
Toronto lost veteran defenseman Henrik Tallinder to a dislocated shoulder and winger David Clarkson to a possible facial injury in a 6-4 victory in Buffalo on Friday night and lost David Booth and Cody Franson in Sunday night’s victory.
Booth suffered a bruised foot blocking a shot during a first period Sabres power play, while Franson fell awkwardly into the boards after being pushed by Buffalo’s Torrey Mitchell and could not skate to the dressing room without assistance. Head coach Randy Carlyle did not have a report on the severity of the defenseman’s injury.
The Leafs fell behind 2-0 on goals by Mikhail Grigorenko and Nicolas Deslaurier, but responded with tallies from Phil Kessel and James van Riemsdyk. Van Riemsdyk, Kadri and Peter Holland scored in the shootout to give Toronto their fourth victory of the preseason.
Jonathan Bernier made 36 saves for the victory.
Toronto plays at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit on Monday.
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With the month of September coming to an end and the regular season just 10 days away, there are a number of unanswered questions about what the 2014-15 Toronto Maple Leafs will look like.
Here are some of the questions you submitted questions to my Twitter account and in the comments section of my Hockeybuzz column.
A – The roster is down to 36 players with the demotions of Tyler Biggs and Garret Sparks on Saturday. It is likely that the club will announce another group of cuts on Monday morning after the second weekend game against Buffalo at ACC. The final cut down to 23 players(or less) will be made next weekend.
Q – (from “BetterCallSaul” in the comments) Pretty simple, where does Nylander play this season?
A – After starting out the exhibition season in impressive fashion, William Nylander was hardly noticeable in the 6-4 win in Buffalo on Friday night. The Leafs are likely to play him the remaining three preseason games, but there is little chance he will be making the Leafs this season.
The determination of what is the best course for Nylander’s future is still up in the air, but you can pretty much rule out playing in the CHL. My bet is on the 18-year-old returning to Sweden rather than a year in the AHL. Nylander is a free agent and will be highly sought after from a number of SHL teams, giving him a chance to mature physically and play with the best team that league has to offer.
A – There is an assumption that Randy Carlyle is going to split up the top line of van Riemsdyk, Bozak and Kessel and move Joffrey Lupul up to the top line, but last year’s most successful unit is playing together tonight against the Sabres. The Leafs head coach has toyed with the idea of shifting Lupul to the right side, as JVR and Lupul were on the same line in one exhibition game and players like Frattin and David Booth are also in the mix for a top six spot.
Depending on the severity of his cheekbone injury, it is still likely that David Clarkson will get the first crack on the second line, but it is hard to imagine van Riemsdyk being on a second unit and not playing with Kessel.
Q – (from “The Shrike” in the comments) With Leivo playing so well, and Kontiola being waiver exempt, do you think Petri will be the one who is sent down?
A – Leivo is having a very good training camp and may be close to getting an extended look in the NHL, but based his skill set he would have to play in the top nine to take advantage of his offensive abilities.
Kontiola has appeared to be a step behind in exhibition games and has to make a better impression in the last week of training camp to lock down a roster spot, but did not buy himself out of a KHL contract to play in the American Hockey League.
A – Trevor Smith(already demoted), Troy Bodie and Frazer McLaren are one-ways that are likely not going to make the Leafs 23-man roster. Colton Orr has had a good camp, but it is questionable if there is a role for him anymore.
Sam Carrick has been a much-improved player going back to the second half of last season with the Marlies and has given Leafs management something to think about down the road, but he has not played well enough to beat out Holland or Santorelli for the third or fourth line center spots.
Q – (from “Tee-Dot” in the comments) So I'm assuming that the injury coupled with being here on a PTO pretty much ensures any chances of Tallinder prolonging his career here are all but done?
A – It all depends on the severity of the shoulder injury to Tallinder, who was on his way to beating out Korbinian Holzer, Petter Granberg and Stuart Percy for the seventh defenseman spot. Carlyle clearly wants some veteran support on the blueline if youngsters like Rielly and Gardiner struggle in their own zone. If it is a four-to-six week recovery for the 35-year-old Swede, then the chances of him being signed are at best 50/50.
Q – (from “BottlePolice” in the comments) Percy, Holzer, or Granberg for the 7th spot?
A – Based on the fact that Stephane Robidas has been cleared for contact and will probably play in one of the final preseason games against Detroit, a seventh defenseman will likely not play. Since the Leafs want Percy and Granberg to play regularly and Holzer would have to clear waivers to go to the AHL, Holzer will likely be the extra defenseman.
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