Oliver Ekman-Larsson left the first period of the club's 2-1 overtime loss on Wednesday with a lower-body injury, as the Leafs can't catch a break with injuries.
The Toronto Maple Leafs can't seem to catch a break this season when it comes to injuries and it turns out the fall out from their previous game could be worse than expected.
According to TSN's Chris Johnson, there is concern from the Leafs that defenseman Brandon Carlo may have "tweaked something" during the club's 2-1 overtime loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday.
Carlo just returned to the Maple Leafs lineup on Jan. 6 after missing 23 games due to an ankle injury that required surgery. His return helped stabilize the right side defense that is still with Chris Tanev, who suffered a groin injury three weeks ago and was out of the lineup before that with a concussion and other upper-body issues.
In 27 games this season, Carlo has four assists while averaging 19:27 of ice time per game.
Meanwhile, Johnston reports that Ekman-Larsson is expected to miss time after falling awkwardly in the first period against the Red Wings. The veteran defenseman has played in all 50 games for the Leafs this season and has arguably been the club's most reliable player on the back-end all season long. He was rewarded for his play with an invite to play for Sweden at the Olympics next month. It's unclear if this injury puts his participation for the Games in jeopardy.
If Ekman-Larsson indeed misses the club's next scheduled game against the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday, that will leave John Tavares as the only player on the roster to have no missed a game this season.
In addition to Tanev, the Leafs saw Jack McCabe miss a couple of games this month due to a lower-body injury. Up front, the Leafs have been without top point-getter William Nylander who aggravated a previous groin injury that forced him to miss six games this season. Matthew Knies continues to play through an issue that he says will only get better with rest, which is coming with the Olympic break. Dakota Joshua suffered a lacerated kidney in late December, although there is word he could resume skating next week.
But in the meantime, the Olympic break can't come soon enough for the Leafs, who have seven games remaining before that happens. B