The Toronto Maple Leafs will be without star rookie Mitch Marner for both of their games this weekend, coach Mike Babcock announced on Saturday.
Marner was listed as “day-to-day” with an apparent shoulder injury on Friday after he had to exit Wednesday’s game against Columbus after crashing into the boards.
He will not be in the lineup on Saturday night when the team hosts the Ottawa Senators, or on Sunday night when they visit the Carolina Hurricanes. Babcock is hopeful Marner will be able to return for Tuesday’s home game against the Winnipeg Jets. With Marner sidelined you should look for Auston Matthews to spend more time playing on a line with William Nylander.
While Matthews has received most of the attention in Toronto this season, Marner has been right there with him offensively and is actually the leading rookie scorer in the NHL with 48 points in 56 games. His 48 points are also tops on the Maple Leafs.
This is the play that injured Marner.
The Maple Leafs enter the weekend in the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference with 63 points, one point ahead of the New York Islanders. They are also just one point behind the Boston Bruins for the third playoff spot in the Atlantic Division while also still having two games in hand.