The Toronto Maple Leafs attempt to end their five game losing streak as they take on the Dallas Stars at Air Canada Center Thursday night, but they will have to overcome the absence of another key player due to injury.
An MRI performed on center Tyler Bozak Wednesday revealed a strained oblique muscle, which will keep the center out "an extended period of time" according to head coach Randy Carlyle. The 27-year-old Bozak missed over a month with a hamstring injury and has been placed on injured reserve by the club.
The Leafs have been offensively challenged for over a month and are now without three of their top six forwards, as Joffrey Lupul is at least a couple weeks away from returning from a groin injury and Dave Bolland is not expected to return from an ankle tendon tear until after the New Year.
Colton Orr is also out for Thursday’s match against the Stars with an elbow injury, but Phil Kessel will suit up after being excused from practice on Wednesday with an undisclosed injury. Cody Franson, who missed the last two games with a lower body injury and Nazem Kadri, who was excused from the team on Monday due to the death of his grandfather, will Kadri will take Bozak’s place in between Kessel and James Van Riemsdyk.
Toronto has called up forward Jerry D’Amigo from the Toronto Marlies and the 22-year-old winger could make his NHL debut this evening. The speedy winger has five goals and three assists in 19 games this season for Toronto’s AHL affiliate and may replace Bozak on the Leafs penalty killing unit.
The Leafs signed the Binghamton, NY native in 2010 after a great freshman season at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a sparkling 12 point performance for the Gold Medal winning Team USA at the 2010 World Juniors.
After splitting time between the Marlies and the OHL Kitchener Rangers in 2011, D’Amigo has put in two solid seasons in the American Hockey League, showing his abilities as an opportunistic scorer(averaging 16 goals per season), defensive forward and penalty killer. He was a key contributor to the Marlies 2012 Calder Cup run, scoring eight goals and five assists in 17 playoff games.
Center Jerred Smithson cleared waivers on Thursday and has been assigned to the Marlies.
The Stars are 9-6 on the road this season and defeated the Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks in Chicago on Tuesday in spite of being outshot 50-18 and not having Tyler Seguin in the lineup. Seguin will be a game time decision for Dallas, as head coach Lindy Ruff indicated after the club’s morning skate that the center would have to be cleared medically after missing the last two games with a concussion.
Jonathan Bernier is expected to be in goal for Toronto and Kari Lehtonen will be between the pipes for Dallas.
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The chances of Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly playing for Canada at the upcoming 2014 World Juniors in Sweden later this month are slim according to GM Dave Nonis, but they are not out of the question.
According to the National Post’s Sean Fitz-Gerald , Nonis left the door open slightly to the possibility of the 19-year-old blueliner joining the national squad if certain things fall into place.
“It’s unlikely, but it’s not impossible,… Nonis said on Wednesday. “In the event that he’s not playing regularly, or there’s a change in our roster … I wouldn’t say that he’s off the table. But I wouldn’t say it’s likely.…
The deadline for Hockey Canada to add NHL players such as Rielly or Calgary’s Sean Monahan is December 19, which coincides with the NHL Holiday trade freeze.
“I’m not sure if Morgan’s situation might not be a little different, because he’s been there before, and doesn’t necessarily need the orientation that maybe some of the others would,… Nonis said. “We’ll probably go the next week or 10 days and see where we’re at.…
With the current state of Toronto’s defense, Rielly’s presence is necessary as veterans Paul Ranger, Mark Fraser and Cody Franson have struggled with inconsistency and injuries. The availability of Rielly might change if Nonis is able to pull off a trade before December 19 for Carolina’s Tim Gleason or Florida’s Dmitri Kulikov, both of whom have been rumored to have drawn interest from the Leafs.
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