The Toronto Maple Leafs begin a back-to-back weekend against Central Division opponents on the road with a Saturday night contest against the Minnesota Wild at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, MN. The Leafs have won five straight games, but could face a number of lineup changes based on injuries to a number of key contributors.
Head coach Sheldon Keefe indicated on Saturday morning that the availability of wingers Mitch Marner, Ondrej Kase and defenseman Morgan Rielly will all be game-time decisions.
Marner collided with Jake Muzzin at practice on Friday, Kase skated in his normal place with Pierre Engvall and David Kampf and Rielly did not participate due to getting x-rays after blocking a shot that during the West Coast road swing.
The Leafs have extra skaters in Kyle Clifford, Joey Anderson and Travis Dermott on the trip, so they will be covered in case all three players are unable to go, but more importantly it will be up the group to maintain the work ethic that has seen Toronto win seven consecutive road games and 15 of the last 17 games.
"It's important to stay on top of (the club). To just think that you just gonna throw your gear on and go out again the next night and be at your best and it's gonna happen, I think that's a mistake." Keefe said. "It's on us as a coaching staff to stay on top of our group and make sure that they're prepared every day. We don't change our preparations, (we) keep the focus on our team but make subtle adjustments and make sure our players are aware of what we're going to face and what the game will feel like. That's the biggest thing we tried to do in our preparations is just not a whole lot of tactical things that change, especially back in a normal type schedule. Now you're playing so many different opponents, you're really focused on your own game, but it's really trying to give your team a sense of what the game will feel like."
Jack Campbell (13-4-1, 1.72 GAA, .943 save %) will make the start against the Wild, while Cam Talbot (12-5-0, 2.71 GAA, .914 save %) will be between the pipes for Minnesota.
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Rodion Amirov has played only three KHL games and been out of action since September with a shoulder injury, but according to Joshua Kloke of the Athletic , the Leafs 2020 first rounder is slated to return to Salavat Ufa lineup on Monday vs. Admiral Vladivostok.
Amirov led Team Russia with six points in seven games at the 2021 IIHF World Junior last December/January and signed a three-year entry-level deal with Toronto in April.
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