Leafs confirm the plan for O'Reilly's return to game action
Ryan O'Reilly has been sidelined with a broken finger since the 4th of March after being struck by an Auston Matthews shot. The original timeline was 4 weeks but there was hope that the veteran could've returned as soon as this week.
The Maple Leafs have a 3-game schedule this week with a return to Scotiabank Arena against the Florida Panthers on Wednesday, a road tilt on Saturday against Ottawa, before hosting the Detroit Red Wings the following day. Head coach Sheldon Keefe announced that O'Reilly won't be returning this week for any of those games but there's a good chance he makes an appearance next week.
While the Leafs have been on the road since the 18th of March, Keefe made mention that O'Reilly had been skating on his own in Toronto before joining his teammates in Carolina a week later. He was seen shooting pucks by himself today before a full-team practice. The Leafs intend on ramping things up with an eye towards next week for his eventual return.
O'Reilly suited up for 8 games with the Leafs after his trade from St. Louis, scoring 3 goals and 5 points. He went pointless in his last 5 games before breaking his finger. Toronto is hoping that O'Reilly can be ready as soon as possible without trying to rush him with the playoffs right around the corner.
They would have 6 games remaining on the docket starting next week with games against Columbus, Boston, Montreal, Florida, Tampa Bay, and New York Rangers. With O'Reilly ramping things up in practice, the game against Columbus on the 4th of April is the likely target and would fit the 4-week timeline. If not, expect O'Reilly back on the 6th against Boston.
| POLL | ||
MARS 28 | 311 ANSWERS Leafs confirm the plan for O'Reilly's return to game action Where will O'Reilly slot in when he returns next week? | ||
| 2nd line C | 133 | 42.8 % |
| 3rd line C | 166 | 53.4 % |
| Other | 12 | 3.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
