Leafs fan favourite appears poised to return to the lineup on Saturday
The Leafs are winners of 5-straight thanks to a 3-1 win over the San Jose Sharks in an otherwise close game on Wednesday. This weekend, they'll look to make it 6-straight wins as they travel to Tampa to take on the Lightning on Saturday night.
During the win over the Sharks, we saw winger Calle Jarnkrok go down due to a groin injury, departing the game during the second period and not returning. Following the game, Sheldon Keefe revealed that Jarnkrok would miss some time, which means that the Buds have a hole in the lineup. Many had assumed that we'd see Denis Malgin draw back in, but the lines during practice on Friday seem to indicate that Keefe has other plans.
Per Sports Illustrated's David Alter, fan favourite Wayne Simmonds skated in a regular white jersey on Friday, while Malgin remained in extras grey, which means that we're likely to see Simmonds make just his 6th appearance this season.
Simmonds has just 1 point to his credit through 5 games this season, an assist in his season debut against the Winnipeg Jets back on October 22nd. For a veteran like Simmonds who is desperately clinging on to hope that he can establish himself as a regular NHLer again as a 34-year-old, he'll need to make this opportunity count if he does make his way back into the lineup. A strong performance in Tampa on Saturday could go a long way in earning him an extended look while Jarnkrok is out.
Of course, Malgin will be chomping at the bit to get back into the lineup as well, so a subpar performance by Simmonds on Saturday could find him back in a grey jersey come Sunday.
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 2 | 203 ANSWERS Leafs fan favourite appears poised to return to the lineup on Saturday Will Wayne Simmonds get on the scoresheet in Tampa on Saturday? | ||
| Yes | 74 | 36.5 % |
| No | 129 | 63.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
