The Swedish defenseman took part in practice on Thursday after missing the last two games. Head coach Sheldon Keefe says they are taking a cautious approach with the 22-year-old.
Rasmus Sandin was a full participant at practice but the Toronto Maple Leafs may keep him out of the lineup for one more game.
"At this point, it's probably looking more like a day or two could really benefit him," Keefe said of Sandin. "I think he's not far away, he was really close today but we may take a little more of a cautious approach with him, but we'll see because he's at the point now where he's improving dramatically every day, but the strength is not quite here they need it to be."
Sandin skated on the third pair at practice alongside Justin Holl. But Conor Timmins took his spot back on the second power-play unit when the practice moved over to special teams.
Sandin missed the last two games with an undisclosed injury. He was seen at KeyBank Center in Buffalo with a heavily bandaged left shoulder.
The 22-year-old confirmed the injury was not sustained at the end of the first period when he took a shot to the hand from Montreal Canadiens forward Alex Belzile.
"It's starting to feel a lot better," Sandin said of the injury. "At the same time, we've got guys that haven't played in a bit too and they kind of wanted to get them in and give me an extra couple of days to recover."
With Sandin out of the lineup, the defense has been put into a blender as TJ Brodie has had to move from the right side to play on the left.
That has led to some lapses in play from defense pairs like Morgan Rielly skating with Justin Holl.
If Sandin doesn't play, it's likely the Leafs would have Rielly skate with Holl again and Timmins skate with Brodie.
Sandin has four goals and 16 assists in 51 games this season. Signed to a two-year, $2.8 million contract in the off-season, the Leafs are expecting the Swedish defenseman to take a big step in his development as they gear up for a playoff run in April.
Timmins has two goals and 11 assists in 21 games since he was acquired by the Maple Leafs in a trade with the Arizona Coyotes back in November. The Leafs recently signed the 24-year-old to a two-year, $2.2 million contract extension.