Maple Leafs Depth Challenged Again With Kirill Marchenko Sustaining Lower-Body Injury In Loss To Flames

ALGARY — Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Jim Hiller never really updates on his injured players. But after Kirill Marchenko went down in the second period after an awkward collision and subsequently left the game, Hiller didn’t sound overly optimistic.

"I don't have the full update, but I don't think...(he) couldn't come back and finish the game, so that's never a good sign."

Marchenko’s lower left knee appeared to buckle underneath him after getting hit by Flames forward Yegor Sharangovich. Marchenko spent the next few minutes trying to shake off the injury, applying pressure to his left leg and squatting on the bench in an effort to see if he could make his ailment feel better.

Marchenko then took his next scheduled shift alongside William Nylander and Nick Paul, but left just 14 seconds in and did not return to the game.

With injuries piling up, losing Marchenko, the centerpiece in a deal that shipped fan favourite Matthew Knies to the Columbus Blue Jackets is another blow to a top-six forward group already with John Tavares (lower-body injury).

Marchenko has six goals and eight assists in 14 games this season, and his production will be tough to replace.

“I mean, somebody's going to have to do it. That's the point. I can't fill it. Somebody's going to have to fill it,” Hiller said. “If you have a bad night as a group, nobody can fill that. So it just takes the group to play well, and then somebody can step up and fill that hole. But if you're not going to play cohesive and turn the puck over, it really doesn't matter who's going to fill it.”

The Maple Leafs fell 5-2 to the Calgary Flames on Monday, snapping their winning streak at four games and fell behind early thanks to a pair of mistakes from Easton Cowan. The sophomore atoned for his transgression by helping Toronto get on the board, bringing a 3-0 deficit down to 3-2.

But now the question is who steps up?

“It's just on the guys got to get some more opportunity and they got to step up with you know more minutes, stepping up in the lineup and and whatnot,” Auston Matthews said. “Every team deals with this. We've been dealing with it for a couple weeks now, with Johnny, Tanny (defenseman Chris Tanev), etc., and it's just a good opportunity for guys to step up and have more opportunity to move.”

McKenna’s time for more minutes?

The Maple Leafs have been protecting rookie Gavin McKenna through the first 14 games of the season, but if Marchenko can’t play in the next game, there is an obvious hole on the left side of the club’s top-six. The Leafs may not have wanted to rush McKenna into that spot consistently, but if Marchenko’s not available, there isn’t an obvious choice.

See more of The Hockey News on Google — Save us as Preferred Source

For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.