Be sure to like HockeyBuzz on facebook! For the latest Leafs updates or Follow @mikeinbuffalo on Twitter *******If you are interested in sponsorship or advertising your business in the Greater Toronto / Southern Ontario area on this column, please send a message for more information by clicking on the “Contact… button at the top of the page.******* The Toronto Maple Leafs have the luxury of giving players extra rest and time to recuperate from minor bumps and bruises with two weeks to go before the start of the playoffs, and will once again play without Auston Matthews and Jake Muzzin as they take on the Philadelphia Flyers at Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday. Head coach Sheldon Keefe indicated that Matthews is feeling really good after sitting on Sunday, but that the club is choosing to give their leading scorer a little more time to recover from an unspecified minor injury. Muzzin missed both weekend games with an injury not related to the concussion issues that plagued him last month. Both players were on the ice prior to the morning skate at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday, along with injured blueliner Rasmus Sandin and winger Ondrej Kase. Keefe said that Matthews and Muzzin will travel with the club for their final road trip of the regular season starting Thursday in Tampa, but that Sandin and Kase will stay in Toronto to continue to work towards possibly returning next week before the playoffs. The Leafs have a six-point cushion over the Lightning in the race for second place in the Atlantic Division and home-ice advantage in the first round and take on a Flyers squad playing out the string with core players Sean Couturier and Ryan Ellis out injured and after trading veterans Derick Brassard, Justin Braun and team captain Claude Giroux, but are not looking past them to a possible playoff preview with Tampa at Amalie Arena on Thursday.
Matthews, Muzzin, Sandin, and Kase working out before the #Leafs morning skate on Tuesday. pic.twitter.com/lZqy5kyKdx
— Michael Augello (@MikeInBuffalo) April 19, 2022
Lot’s of â¤ï¸ for the 💙ðŸ¤
— Norman James (@IamNormanJames) April 26, 2021
Convo on Podcast.#theleafsconvo https://t.co/Xdn3CDLVCI