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The Toronto Maple Leafs practiced in Etobicoke on Thursday in preparation for their fourth back-to-back on the month, starting with a match against ex-Leaf Patrick Marleau and the San Jose Sharks on Friday at Scotiabank Arena.
The focus on the ice was the absence of defenseman Morgan Rielly, but head coach Mike Babcock indicated after practice that the Leafs top defenseman would be in the lineup on Friday.
Replacing Rielly on the top pairing with Cody Ceci was Travis Dermott, who is close to returning to the lineup after off-season shoulder surgery. Dermott could be activated as early as Saturday, when he is eligible to come off long-term injured reserve.
Winger Zach Hyman participated as an extra skater in practice, and appears to be close to being ready after suffering an ACL injury in the Bruins series last April, but as much as the winger is anxious to make his return, he also wants to make sure that he does not come back too soon.
"You try to do everything you can to help the guys and support and be a positive figure in the locker room while you're not in, and try to make guys better and practice but all you can do is watch and be competitive and wanting to play." Hyman said. "That's frustrating but again you have to respect the timeline and respect the process and I've done a lot of work to get to where I am now, so making sure that when I do come back, everything's good and there (are) no setbacks."
John Tavares continues to do on-ice work after suffering a broken finger last week, which he hopes will result in him being up to speed when he is fully healed and cleared to play.
"I couldn't say (how the finger is), I haven't had a updated image, so we just got to continue to let it heal." Tavares said. "I think over the next few days we'll get a better sense of where that it's at and I think the positive for me, that I've really tried to take is, it doesn't really limit my ability to do everything other than really shoot a puck or handle a puck. (I'm) using some very light pucks up out there right now so I'm able to really stay in shape and work on some things individually that you don't get to work on as well in season, so just try to stay on those positives and really be able to be on top of my fitness and conditioning, so when I am healthy and good to play I'm going to be ready to go."
It is expected that Toronto will not deviate from their usual pattern and will start Frederik Andersen against the Sharks, who will be playing in Montreal on Thursday and playing the second of back-to-back games on Friday. San Jose will go with backup Aaron Dell against the Habs, which means that the Leafs will face Martin Jones.
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