The Toronto Maple Leafs will reach the halfway point of the regular season on Saturday and in spite of possessing the NHL’s second-best record, they trail the Tampa Bay Lightning by 10 points for top spot in the Atlantic Division and because of the league’s divisional playoff setup, will face a difficult challenge in the first round of the postseason.
The Montreal Canadiens would be an exciting match of Canada’s two most storied franchises for the first time since 1979, while a series against the Buffalo Sabres would rekindle the between the Leafs and their closest geographic rival, but it is beginning to look as if the road for any Toronto playoff success will go through Boston.
After an overtime win against Buffalo and a 4-2 win over Chicago at the 2019 Winter Classic on Tuesday, the Bruins moved into a third place tie with the Sabres at 48 points, which is a remarkable achievement since two of their franchise cornerstones -- Patrice Bergeron and Zdeno Chara -- were out injured from mid-November to late-December, and defenseman Charlie McAvoy has missed 23 games with concussion issues.
Only McAvoy remains unavailable for Boston and with the questionable health of Carey Price and the recent injury to Sabres captain Jack Eichel, the Bruins would appear to have the leg up on third place in the Atlantic and could close ground on the Leafs, depending on the health status of goalie Frederik Andersen.
Toronto GM Kyle Dubas could be busy prior to the NHL trade deadline, with assets and cap space available, and a right-handed defenseman and possibly some sandpaper and experience up front on his shopping list, but Bruins GM Don Sweeney is rumored to be looking to add blueline and forward help before February 25th, which means that the two divisional foes could competing for the same players and drive the cost up, but those deals could make the difference between advancing and another first round exit.
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The Leafs took to the ice at the Mastercard Centre in Etobicoke, ON on Wednesday and goaltender Frederik Andersen skated did some drills, but did not take part in practice and was ruled out of Thursday afternoon’s home game against the Minnesota Wild.
Leafs head coach Mike Babcock did not have any medical update on Andersen, so it is unknown how long the starting goalie will be out.
“He didn’t practice with us today, so obviously we are not going to see him tomorrow.” Babcock said. “We have a practice day (on Friday), I don’t know if he can practice one day and (play). He’s practicing every day and doing his thing.”
The club returned goalie Kasimir Kaskisuo to the Toronto Marlies after being emergency recalled on Saturday to backup Garret Sparks. Sparks struggled in a 4-0 loss to the New York Islanders, but the 25-year-old will make his fourth straight start on Thursday.
“I thought when the fourth (Mathew Barzal’s hat trick) goal went in, he got rattled a bit.” Babcock said. “There’s no sense getting rattled, there’s no sense getting wound up. It’s the next shot… it doesn’t go in and some days it does and (you have to) come back right at it.”
Veteran Michael Hutchinson (acquired from the Florida Panthers for a 2020 fifth round pick) made his Marlies debut on Monday, stopping 31 shots in a 5-4 overtime victory over Charlotte and could be brought up on emergency recall to backup Sparks before the game.
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