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The Toronto Maple Leafs finish off the pre-All-Star portion of their schedule on Saturday with a rematch against the Winnipeg Jets at the Canada Life Centre, hoping to sweep the home-and-home series after a 1-0 overtime victory on Wednesday, but the Leafs will have to accomplish that goal without winger Calle Jarnkrok. The veteran forward left practice on Friday with an apparent hand injury and head coach Sheldon Keefe confirmed that he would miss significant time.
"(Calle's) got a broken knuckle, so he's going to be out week-to-week," Keefe said. "We've got a number of other guys that have stepped up in different spots, whether that's (Max) Domi, (Nick) Robertson, (Pontus) Holmberg, (David) Kampf or (Noah) Gregor....all the way through. (Ryan Reaves will) come back in the lineup here, so he'll get his opportunity to rejoin the team. And that's it. (Jarnkrok's) a very important player for us and we'll miss him for sure. But you just kind of press on and adapt."
Calle Jarnkrok slams his glove in frustration after he leaves practice early after blocking a point shot in a practice drill. pic.twitter.com/777kbGkyMc
— David Alter (@dalter) January 26, 2024
Tyler Bertuzzi will return to the lineup alongside John Tavares and William Nylander after missing Wednesday’s game due to the birth of his child, and it is expected that either Holmberg or Gregor will move up to the third line to take the spot of Jarnkrok, while Reaves will likely play sparingly on the fourth line after being out six weeks with a lower-body injury.
A hand injury of this nature likely means Jarnkrok will be out at least a month. One possibility could be a great opportunity for Robertson (who has 2 goals and 1 assist in the last four games), playing in an offensive role, while someone like Bertuzzi or Matthew Knies drops down to the third line or Kampf gets elevated from the fourth line.
Reaves has been a liability for most of the season, even playing limited minutes on the fourth line and that is unlikely to change, which means that Toronto will need to make a callup from the AHL after the All-Star break. The prime candidate for that would be Alex Steeves, who leads the Marlies with 34 points (16 goals, 18 assists) and has a 16-game point streak.
Alex Steeves pots his own rebound for his 13th goal of the season pic.twitter.com/MzPXLe2duW
— Rink Rat Report (@RinkRatReport) January 20, 2024
Connor Hellebuyck (23-8-3, 2.17 GAA, .925 save %) is expected to get the start for Winnipeg after backup Laurent Brossoit played on Wednesday, while Ilya Samsonov will make his third straight start for the Leafs.
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