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Maple Leafs’ task gets tougher with Muzzin out for Blue Jackets series – Sportsnet.ca

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TORONTO – Let us first state the obvious here: there is nothing more important than Jake Muzzin’s health, which is why it’s tremendous news the Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman was able to return to the team hotel from hospital after being stretchered off the ice Tuesday.

That tells us his condition is not as critical as it looked during the scary quiet 10 minutes it took to get him safely loaded on the stretcher late in a Game 2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets.

However, if Muzzin is to play again this season, the Leafs must now win two of the next three games without him in order to advance beyond their qualifying-round series.

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And so the task gets tougher.

The team didn’t provide any specifics on the nature of Muzzin’s injury, but announced Wednesday that he would be unavailable for the balance of the best-of-five with Columbus. The defenceman fell awkwardly after being cross-checked in the back by Pierre-Luc Dubois and crashing head-first into Oliver Bjorkstrand.

He had to be taken from the NHL’s secure zone to be examined at hospital and was discharged overnight, returning to the Royal York to observe quarantine in his hotel room while recovering.

Muzzin is a central figure in what the Leafs are and hope to be. The 31-year-old handles difficult minutes on the shutdown pairing with Justin Holl, kills penalties and serves as an off-ice conscience of the group.

Sheldon Keefe urged him to take on an even greater presence in the dressing room after signing a $22.5-million, four-year contract extension in February – noting that it removed any question about his standing within the organization.

The next day, Muzzin spoke candidly with reporters about what was holding the Leafs back from becoming the kind of Stanley Cup contender they hoped to be.

“The core of the team needs to take a jump consistently,” he said before a Feb. 25 game in Tampa. “We can’t have it one night and not the next. That’s everyone and that’s bringing along the younger core as well. We have to give them no option but to come with us.”

The way the Leafs played in Tuesday’s 3-0 victory over the Jackets suggests they’ve grown in the intervening months. It was arguably their most complete performance of the season, with a decided edge in even-strength shot attempts (61 per cent), expected goals (67.3 per cent) and high-danger scoring chances (75 per cent).

Most importantly, they limited the Blue Jackets to just 20 shots against.

Replicating that effort in Thursday’s Game 3 will be difficult without Muzzin, who will likely be replaced in the lineup by veteran utilityman Martin Marincin. He hasn’t appeared in the Stanley Cup Playoffs since the 2017 series against Washington, when he was on the ice for both goals against in a 2-1 loss in Game 6.

Marincin spent most of the next season in the American Hockey League – winning a Calder Cup with Keefe and several of his current Leafs teammates – and has remained in the organization as a depth option on a series of league-minimum one-year contracts.

What he does especially well is suppress shots on the penalty kill, which will be useful if there are as many specialty teams situations as we saw in Game 2. It’s unlikely the Slovak would be trusted with Muzzin’s minutes at 5-on-5.

Livestream the Maple Leafs in the Stanley Cup Qualifiers, plus every game of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs on Sportsnet NOW.

An intriguing option for those is Travis Dermott, who stepped in alongside Holl when Muzzin suffered a broken hand earlier this season. That proved to be one of the stronger stretches of the season for him.

We’ll get a better idea about Keefe’s plans when the Leafs practice later Wednesday afternoon.

There isn’t much time to make contingency plans with Games 3 and 4 scheduled back-to-back on Thursday and Friday, followed by a potential series-deciding Game 5 on Sunday.

Perhaps this will serve as a rallying point for the Leafs. Muzzin is an incredibly popular teammate, the kind of guy who leads even without having a letter sewn on his sweater.

There had to be some relief among the players in finding out that his injury wasn’t season-ending, especially after the shock of seeing him stretchered off. Now they have to win enough games in order to buy Muzzin the time needed to get back in the lineup.

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Canucks place goalie Thatcher Demko on long-term injured list – CBC.ca

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The Vancouver Canucks have placed all-star goalie Thatcher Demko on the long-term injured reserve list retroactively.

“It’s just cap related,” coach Rick Tocchet said after practice Wednesday. “We get some cap relief, that’s all it is.” 

The 28-year-old netminder has been considered week to week since being sidelined with a lower-body injury midway through Vancouver’s 5-0 win over the Winnipeg Jets on March 9.

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That injury designation hasn’t changed, Tocchet said.

Demko boasts a 34-18-2 record this season, with a .917 save percentage, a 2.47 goals-against average and five shutouts.

Casey DeSmith has taken over the starting job for Vancouver, going 3-2-1 since Demko’s injury. He has a .899 save percentage on the season with a 2.73 goals-against average and one shutout. 

The earliest Demko could be back in the Canucks’ lineup is April 6 against the Kings in Los Angeles.

He’s expected to be a key piece as Vancouver (45-19-8) prepares for its first playoff appearance since the COVID-shortened 2019-20 campaign. 

Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin also announced Wednesday that the club has called up forward Arshdeep Bains from the Abbotsford Canucks of the American Hockey League. 

“I’d like to see where [Bains is] at,” Tocchet said, noting he isn’t sure whether the 23-year-old winger will slot into the lineup when the Canucks host the Dallas Stars on Thursday. 

WATCH | Bains makes NHL debut

Surrey, B.C.’s Arshdeep Bains makes Canucks debut

1 month ago

Duration 2:20

Arshdeep Bains from Surrey, B.C., has made his NHL debut with the Vancouver Canucks Tuesday night against the Colorado Avalanche. As CBC’s Joel Ballard reports, it’s been a hard-fought journey for the hometown kid to the big leagues.

Bains played five games for the NHL team in February before being sent back to Abbotsford. 

“He went down, he’s done a couple of things that we like, and he’s got some speed,” Tocchet said. 

Vancouver may get another forward back in the lineup Thursday. 

Dakota Joshua practised in a full-contact jersey on Wednesday for the first time since suffering an upper-body injury in Vancouver’s 4-2 win over the Blackhawks in Chicago on Feb. 13. 

The physical winger, who’s set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, has a career-high 26 points (13 goals, 13 assists) this season.

Sitting out injured “hasn’t been fun,” Joshua said.

“It feels like forever,” he said. “But at this point, that’s behind me and I’m moving forward.”

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Senators score 5 in 1st, cruise past Sabres – NHL.com

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“I thought that we were ready to go,” Ottawa coach Jacques Martin said. “We got some pucks at the net, we got people at the net. Took advantage of our opportunities and, I think, built a nice lead. And then I thought, in the third period, we continued again. Our goaltending was good. Made some key saves. But I thought we shut them down in the third period good.”

Shane Pinto had a goal and three assists, and Brady Tkachuk, Boris Katchouk, Jakob Chychrun and Drake Batherson each had a goal and an assist for the Senators (31-36-4), who have won three in a row. Korpisalo made 34 saves.

“If you want to win, you need balance,” Pinto said. “And we had that tonight and it’s going to be big for the back-to-back tomorrow (against the Chicago Blackhawks) to have that same thing. So, going to need all the guys on board.”

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JJ Peterka and Connor Clifton scored for the Sabres (34-34-5), who have lost four of six. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen allowed four goals on nine shots before he was replaced by Devon Levi, who made 31 saves in relief.

“We wanted, I guess, to play as individuals,” Clifton said. “I’m disappointed we let ‘Upie’ down, he’s the heart and soul of this team. He’s kept us in so many games, and just to not show up and play that careless style, give them freebies all over the place. … Yeah, obviously, the first 20 really dictated the rest of the game.”

Artem Zub gave Ottawa a 1-0 lead at 2:37 of the first period. He stuffed in a loose puck on the goal line after Katchouk’s shot was redirected by Mark Kastelic between Luukkonen’s pads.

Katchouk made it 2-0 at 4:56, tipping Parker Kelly’s shot from the top of the right face-off circle past Luukkonen.

“It’s keeping the consistency with good effort, right habits,” Katchouk said. “The small things matter so much in this game. And obviously, it worked out tonight with the tip. But kudos to my linemates. ‘Kels’ and ‘Kassy,’ they worked hard to get the puck as well. Those two battle hard every night as well. We feed off each other, and it’s good to play with them.”

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Vasilevskiy stops 23 as surging Lightning beat Bruins – Sportsnet.ca

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