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The Toronto Maple Leafs hope that the addition of their key acquisition from the trade deadline helps pull the club out of their recent struggles, as veteran winger Nick Foligno will make his debut against the Winnipeg Jets at the Bell MTS Centre on Thursday.
The game is the first of a two-game set in Manitoba that could go a long way to determine top spot in the North Division, as the Leafs lead the Jets by four points after losing five straight (0-3-2) with 10 games remaining and play Winnipeg three times.
With winger Zach Hyman out at least the next two weeks, Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe has decided to put Foligno right into a primary position, on the left wing with center Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner.
"What I bring is that physical presence, nothing flashy. I'm obviously able to play on the offensive side of it, but just a steady presence out there." Foligno said after the morning skate. "I haven't played in 10 days, I'm not expecting to jump in, start dangling and doing all those things, but I do want to contribute on the other side where you're hard to play against. Your mindset is that and I think the rest comes from me when I have that mindset. That's what I'm looking to do, just play a hard style of game that I normally play, chip in where I can, not expect too much of myself and all the while knowing that I have full confidence in being able to help this team."
Nick Foligno rocking a '93 #Leafs cap given to him by his dad. pic.twitter.com/eGq8RmeGVD
— Michael Augello (@MikeInBuffalo) April 22, 2021
Alex Galchenyuk returns to the second line with John Tavares and William Nylander, Ilya Mikheyev gets back into the lineup after a one-game respite on the checking line with Alex Kerfoot and Wayne Simmonds, and Adam Brooks centers the fourth line between veterans Joe Thornton and Jason Spezza.
After experimenting with some different partners vs. Vancouver, Keefe returned to the top pairing alignments that have been together most of the season, Morgan Rielly with TJ Brodie, and Jake Muzzin with Justin Holl. Keefe did not have any further information on the health status of blueliner Zach Bogosian, other than to say that the veteran who left Tuesday’s game after going full speed into the end boards would be out for more than a week.
Travis Dermott replaces Bogosian in the lineup and will partner with Rasmus Sandin. New addition Ben Hutton joined the club on Wednesday, but Keefe indicated that getting Sandin playing time in the wake of Bogosian’s injury takes precedence, since the 21-year-old has played only three games between the Toronto Marlies and the Leafs this season.
Jack Campbell will be in goal for Toronto and Connor Hellebuyck will get the start for the Jets.
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Leafs Convo on Pod.https://t.co/WLOv00ZJKR
— Norman James (@IamNormanJames) April 15, 2021
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