The Maple Leafs were dominated by the Florida Panthers by a score of 5-1 on Wednesday, in addition to having lost the services of another player in Bobby McMann.
McMann, who played on the first line, became the eighth forward to find himself sidelined this season.
“We’re missing half our players up front,” said winger Mitch Marner when asked to explain the team’s struggles to generate offense. “It’s difficult, you know. There are several players who are called in to fill certain roles and they do an excellent job. I think we’re doing a great job of limiting the odds to five-on-five. »
The Leafs actually allowed nine even-strength goals, the lowest total in the league, in the nine games that star center Auston Matthews missed due to an upper-body injury. However, they were themselves limited to nine goals in these circumstances, placing them last in this period. McMann leads the team with three goals at 5-on-5 since November 4.
“He’s another guy who did a lot for the team at 5-on-5 with his speed, so it’s unfortunate to see him go down in battle as well,” said Marner, who scored the only goal on the power play yesterday.
Craig Berube revealed that McMann’s case is being evaluated on a daily basis and that further tests must be carried out.
“It’s frustrating, but we hope to see other players come back for the next game,” said the coach.
Matthews trained with the team on Tuesday and Wednesday morning, but his return to play has not yet been confirmed.
“It looks good,” says Steven Lorentz. “When he has the puck, even in practice, he makes plays like he used to do. It would be a huge help of course, but I guess we’ll have to see what happens day to day. »
After taking advantage of Thursday off, the Leafs will resume training Friday morning in Fort Lauderdale, then they will travel to Tampa to face the Lightning on Saturday evening.
Matthew Knies, who hasn’t played since suffering an upper-body injury on Nov. 20, will also be on the trip. The winger practiced in a non-contact jersey on Tuesday before wearing a regular jersey on Wednesday. His name could be removed from the injured list starting Saturday.
The Torontonians managed to accumulate victories despite this series of injuries. They won four straight and seven of their last eight before losing at Sunrise.
Max Domi (lower body), Max Pacioretty (lower body), David Kampf (lower body) and Calle Jarnkrok (groin) remain sidelined. For his part, Ryan Reaves has now served three of his five game suspensions.
No excuses however, Berube wants more from his attackers.
“We can do better in front of the net and create chances around it by getting our hands dirty. I don’t think we play hard enough around the net and getting to the net,” he said.
Berube points out that his defenders did a good job sending pucks on goal Wednesday night. Morgan Rielly led his team in this regard, with four shots. Conor Timmins and Oliver Ekman-Larsson each had three.
The number of injuries has also opened the door for some top Leafs prospects, including Nikita Grebenkin. The fiery forward was handed a costly penalty for going too far in the first half, but received a pass from his coach.
“It was a tough decision, I don’t think it was a penalty,” Berube said of the fifth-round pick. “These are things that happen. He is a physical player, he will sometimes take punishment. I think he fought well. »
The 21-year-old Russian had the opportunity to play a few shifts with Marner and John Tavares after McMann’s departure and is appreciated by his teammates for his energy level.
