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The Toronto Maple Leafs to their credit have been able to withstand injuries to both of their goaltenders and the top echelon of their defense to hold the NHL’s third-best record at 17-5-6. The Leafs defeated the Los Angeles Kings 5-0 at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday, extending their consecutive points streak to 13 games (10-0-3), but lost winger Nick Robertson to a shoulder injury.
Robertson was throttled by Kings defenseman Matt Roy into the boards in the first period and landed awkwardly on his right shoulder. The Leafs forward struggled to get back to his skates and went to the Toronto locker room with his arm hanging.
“(Nick) is going to miss some significant time. I am not sure where we put that, but it is not a short-term thing.” Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said after the game. “It is a tough break. You feel for the kid. He is a guy who gives everything he has to the game. He had such a great preseason and earned a spot on our team. There was an increased opportunity there for him.
Injuries are tough. We have been going through it a lot with our defense and all of that. It feels a little different when it is a young guy like him. He has had his fair share of his injuries each year that he has played professionally. It is a tough thing for him.”
This is the third major injury for Robertson when he has had a chance to carve out a role on the NHL club. In January 2021, the young winger suffered a knee injury after being slammed to the board in his first game by Ottawa’s Drake Batherson. The following October, it was a broken leg while playing for the Marlies that cost him the first half of the season.
With Calle Jarnkrok on the injured list and Alex Kerfoot struggling offensively, this was thought to be the 21-year-old’s best chance to establish himself, but that chance could be gone depending on the length of his recovery.
Pierre Engvall, David Kampf, and William Nylander scored in a span of 66 seconds to give Toronto a substantial lead in the second period. Mitch Marner extended his consecutive game point streak to 21 games, Auston Matthews added his 14th of the season and Ilya Samsonov made 29 saves for his first shutout of the season.
The game took a tangent when Engvall and former King defenseman Sean Durzi tangled early in the third. The pair continued to joust at center ice, and the Leafs forward made contact with Durzi’s head with his stick, earning a five-minute major for high sticking. Engvall will have a hearing with the NHL’s Department of Player Safety for the incident.
Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • 
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