On Wednesday, John Tavares, the captain of the Maple Leafs, and teammate Mitch Marner had some company in the sick bay.
William Nylander, the team’s leading scorer with 66 points, was substituted for them at practice after they were both absent from Tuesday’s 4-1 victory over St. Louis.
It remains to be seen if any of the three key Leafs play on Thursday at home versus the Philadelphia Flyers.
Following practice, coach Sheldon Keefe stated, “They’re not feeling well enough to have it make sense to come in (on Wednesday).” “We’ll simply keep an eye on them throughout the day while they attempt to eat and assess their condition on Thursday.”
Defenceman Morgan Rielly, who was suspended, skated on the right wing in a line with Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies while Marner was out.
Keefe grinned and added, “I actually thought maybe if we changed his number, nobody would notice we put him out there on right wing.” It gets us through practice, but it also gives Riley some new experiences, and perhaps anything new will help him break up this otherwise inactive time.