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After a lengthy interruption in the schedule due to the rampant spread of Omicron, the Toronto Maple Leafs return to action for their first tilt of 2022 against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Arena. The Leafs have been out of action since a 5-1 win in Edmonton on December 14, while the Sens last game was a 4-3 loss to Philadelphia on December 18.
The contest will be played in front of a scant group of fans, as the Ontario government lowered the limit in buildings to 1,000. There had been some speculation that the league could have pushed the contest to later in the season for revenue purposes, but the players are more than anxious to get back to work after more than two weeks of inactivity.
"We're ready to play and excited to play. It's been a while and you need to just have a break this time of the year," Leafs captain John Tavares said. "I think we're just happy to get back competing and get our game going again."
The club held an optional skate on Scotiabank Arena and the group of players that recently returned from COVID protocol (William Nylander, Morgan Rielly, Jake Muzzin,David Kampf, and Ilya Mikheyev) were on the ice, but head coach Sheldon Keefe did not confirm that they would be back in the lineup against the Sens.
Arena workers pull blue bunting over empty seats for tonight vs.Ottawa. pic.twitter.com/5tAMrAmQ1g
— Lance Hornby (@sunhornby) January 1, 2022
"Muzzin, Rielly, and Nylander are the biggest question marks for us," Keefe said, The three guys who had their first day back with us (on Friday), they're question marks for us and we won't know on them certainly until they get off the ice. Maybe even till later in the day and how they've responded, how they're feeling and then go through the process with the medical team."
Toronto will get two injured players back in the lineup, Winger Mitch Marner will play in his first game in a month after suffering a shoulder injury in practice in early December. Defenseman Rasmus Sandin also returns after missing three weeks with a knee injury that occurred in Winnipeg on December 5. Jack Campbell will get the start in goal.
Ottawa is still dealing with COVID issues, as Josh Norris, Tyler Ennis, Nick Paul, Anton Forsberg and Dillon Heatherington are in or have been placed in protocol, and Clark Bishop, Logan Shaw, and Lassi Thomson have been added to the roster. Matt Murray will be between the pipes for the Sens.
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Lot’s of â¤ï¸ for the 💙ðŸ¤
— Norman James (@IamNormanJames) April 26, 2021
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