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The Toronto Maple Leafs move closer to the end of the regular season with three games in four nights, starting with a rematch with the Ottawa Senators in Kanata on Saturday. After practice on Friday, head coach Sheldon Keefe indicated that the Leafs will once again opt to play 11 forwards and seven defensemen, but with Wayne Simmonds ill, and Noel Acciari and Ryan O’Reilly recovering from injury, the club recalled forward Radim Zohorna from the AHL Marlies on Friday. Whether Zohorna will make his first start for Toronto will depend on how Simmonds is feeling.
“We will see how he is throughout the remainder of the day and make a decision as to whether we can or should get him out to Ottawa.… Keefe said on Friday, “Because of the Simmonds situation, it kind of crept up on us late. (Zohorna) arrived at the building late. It was kind of rushed getting him here and diverting him from Marlies practice to here.
I know when (we) acquired him that he is a big guy with skill. He has played in the league before with both Pittsburgh and Calgary. We will see how things go throughout today and tomorrow and make a determination on the lineup.…
Keefe indicated that both Acciari (who suffered a whiplash/neck injury last Sunday vs. Nashville) and O’Reilly (still recovering from a broken finger), who were both on the ice at Ford Performance Centre before the club departed for the nation’s capital, will not play on the weekend.
“(The plan with Acciari) was to get back implemented with the group in the pre-practice setting and work with guys there,… Keefe said. “We will just continue to inch him along. It is similar to O’Reilly. Different injuries, but similar in that we want to be certain that those guys are feeling 100% before they’re back in.…
Based on their standard operating procedure since the trade deadline, the Leafs could switch to the more conventional 12 / 6 alignment in the second of back-to-back games against Detroit with the last line change at home on Sunday.
The reason for playing 11/7 is not simply because Toronto is short-handed up front, but it allows Keefe to use different forward line combinations in preparation for the shuffling that normally happens in the postseason, while it also allows the Leafs to give ice time to an extra blueliner.
Erik Gustafsson is still away from the club dealing with a personal matter, but the chances of the power play specialist playing in the playoffs are remote. Keefe will likely continue to evaluate his options up to the end of the season, with one of Luke Schenn, Justin Holl, or Timothy Liljegren the odd man out to start the series with Tampa in just over two weeks.
With back-to-back games, it is guaranteed that Ilya Samsonov and Matt Murray will each start a weekend game, but Keefe did not tip his hand on Friday as to which will go against Ottawa or Detroit. Murray was excellent in the Leafs 5-4 victory on March 18, stopping 48 of 52 shots and six opportunities in the shootout, and Samsonov has a below .500 record on the road. *******