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The Toronto Maple Leafs had their full roster on the ice for practice at the MasterCard Centre in Etobicoke, ON on Tuesday, including Auston Matthews (returning from All-Star weekend in Tampa) and injured skaters Nikita Zaitsev, Morgan Rielly and Nikita Soshnikov.
“It’s always hard to be injured, it’s always hard to watch your team playing.… Zaitsev said on Monday. “(It felt) like it was so long ago, like (being out of the lineup) lasted for a year.…
Nikita Zaitsev on the ice at Leafs practice
— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) January 29, 2018
First time skating with teammates since sustaining injury on Dec. 15 pic.twitter.com/FmdF2EB0j3
Zaitsev skated for the second day in a row after missing 17 games with a broken foot and in spite of the indicating that his cardio was not good in his first practice, the Russian blueliner expects to get back into the Leafs lineup (according to Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston) against the New York Islanders on Wednesday.
Leafs head coach Mike Babcock indicated that a final decision on Zaitsev’s status would be made after Wednesday’s morning skate. Veteran Roman Polak was the extra defenseman during practice and would step into the lineup if the injured blueliner is not ready to go.
Reilly took to the ice prior to his teammates for the second day in a row, but did not participate in practice, which makes his return doubtful for Wednesday and perhaps the second of back-to-back games against the Rangers in New York on Thursday.
Zaitsev skated with rookie Travis Dermott, Jake Gardiner remained paired with veteran Ron Hainsey, Andreas Borgman and Connor Carrick were the third pair.
Soshnikov has not played since late November due to a lower body injury and skated alongside Polak in practice. Babcock indicated last week that the winger may be in line for a conditioning stint in the American Hockey League before he is ready to return to the Leafs lineup.
In support of #BellLetsTalk Day tomorrow, Head Coach Mike Babcock reminds us that mental health affects us all.
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) January 30, 2018
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