Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe updated the timeline of two core players on Tuesday.
Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe updated the timeline of two core players on Tuesday.
Morgan Rielly decided to get into specifics on how he sustained an upper-body injury during the Toronto Maple Leafs' 2-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on March 24. But it's looking like the club's top defenseman will return when the team hosts the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday.
"I feel good and just taking it day-by-day right now Rielly said following an on-ice session on Tuesday. "We'll see for tomorrow, but I feel good."
Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe rang a more optimistic tone about Rielly's status for Thursday.
"Morgan will be available for us," Keefe said.
Rielly has missed the last four games due to the injury and the club has already been without Joel Edmundson (undisclosed) and Timothy Liljegren (upper body) for the last week.
That's led to less-than-ideal defense pairs in some of their recent matchups. But it has also allowed Keefe to get other players into the mix, like veteran defenseman Mark Giordano, who has played in the last two games after missing nearly a month of action.
Rielly has seven goals and 44 assists in 65 games this season. With just eight games remaining in the regular season, the Leafs have prioritized rest by taking days off of practice and holding less full morning skates.
So what's ideal for players like Rielly?
"I don't want to put a number on it, it's just a matter of being ready to go," he said. "I'd say more than one."
Marner return this weekend?
Like Rielly, Marner could have used the benefit of a full practice but instead, he was out on the ice with Rielly, John Tavares and Noah Gregor working on drills.
Marner, who hasn't played since Mar. 7 with a reported high-ankle sprain, might return on Saturday against the Montreal Canadiens depending on how things are decided between the club and the player.
"I haven't had a chance to discuss with him here yet since he's come off the ice but you know I think with him we're just going to feel it out and talk to him and likely make it more of a target for the weekend."
Marner's injury has been odd from the onset after he appeared to hurt himself while spinning around the net to fire a shot in a game against the Boston Bruins. In the immediate aftermath, the club said Marner was day-to-day and then shifted that away to "day-to-day away from being day-to-day."
Marner has now missed 11 games due to the injury and given that he's now slated to miss Thursday's game against the Lightning, that will make it 12.
Marner spoke to the media last week about the injury and refused to confirm the nature of his injury while saying the media can continue to speculate.
The talented forward has 25 goals and 51 assists in 62 games this season.
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