Ryan O’Reilly Set to Make Maple Leafs Return Against Bruins and the Plan Ahead of the Playoffs
Out for over a month with a broken finger, Toronto’s prized trade acquisition is set to make his return.
Ryan O’Reilly admitted it was frustrating to have to sit out a month with a broken finger, but the Toronto Maple Leafs’ forward says he feels "100 percent" and will make his return to the lineup when his team visits the Boston Bruins on Thursday.
"It could have been worse, I could have missed the playoffs," O'Reilly said following his first practice in full contact since suffering a broken finger last month. "I'm just excited that I'm back now."
Acquired by the Maple Leafs from the St. Louis Blues along with Noel Acciari in exchange for a package of draft picks (including Toronto's first-round selection in 2023), O'Reilly skated in eight games with the Leafs before he was on the receiving end of some friendly fire from teammate Auston Matthews.
The forward had been heating up, recording a hat trick against his former team, the Buffalo Sabres on Feb. 21. He skated at the second-line center position for his first six games of his Leafs tenure before moving down to the third line before the last two.
At practice on Wednesday, O'Reilly skated with Acciari and Alex Kerfoot on the third line.
"With O'Reilly in that spot there he's going to have utilities like playing with players that can defend really well," Keefe said. "This is a line I believe can add depth to our team in terms of matchups; with our opponent tomorrow, we're certainly going to need that type of depth."
"They're a consistent team, they stick to their structure and they're consistent with it. That's a lesson for ourselves. It's going to be a physical game, it's going to have a playoff feel to it."
O'Reilly didn't wear any protective gloves when doing battle drills at practice on Wednesday. He had some ‘buddy’ tape around his fingers, but that's about it, which he described was for flexion.
"I didn't feel anything in terms of stick battles, it felt 100 percent," O'Reilly said of his finger. "Hopefully, it stays that way."
The 32-year-old O'Reilly said he's ok to take faceoffs, something Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe identified as something they had to be sure of before putting back into the lineup too soon.
O'Reilly may not get a full load of faceoffs against the Bruins on Thursday, but having Acciari and Kerfoot on his flanks, two wingers who have played center, can easily step in if need be.
O'Reilly's deployment between now and the playoffs
Although O'Reilly will start out on the third line right now, Keefe said there could be some subtle tweaks between now and Game 1 of the playoffs in terms of the veteran's deployment.
O'Reilly played with Matthews for a couple of shifts in Vancouver before he was injured.
"What I've learned is wherever I put him, he's done really well," Keefe said of O'Reilly. "Those were dominant shifts that looked like it was going to flip the game for us. We'll try again."
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