Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe confirms two roster changes ahead of tonight's Battle of Ontario
After a 5-2 win last night at home against the Carolina Hurricanes, the Toronto Maple Leafs are in Ottawa tonight to take on the Senators. After newly acquired Leaf Noel Acciari left last night's game due to an apparent injury, Keefe revealed he will not play tonight. The Leafs' bench boss went on to say that Toronto will ice 12 forwards and 6 defensemen tonight, and that Justin Holl and Wayne Simmonds will both draw back into the lineup. Keefe also confirmed that this was always the plan and that Simmonds had already been informed that he'd be playing long before the Acciari injury occurred.
Despite the wishes of many Leaf fans, Holl is probably a little too useful as a rush defender and on the penalty kill to being a healthy scratch for long stretches. He has played in 66 of the Leafs' 68 games this season. In that time, he has recorded 2 goals, 14 points, 127 hits and 116 blocked shots, while averaging 20 minutes and 33 seconds of ice time per game. As far as who will be coming out of the lineup on the blueline, this is purely speculative, but I'd imagine that Erik Gustafsson and Timothy Liljegren will sit this one out, with Schenn coming in to face a rough, gritty young Sens team that contains the likes of Brady Tkachuk and this season's PIMs leader, Austin Watson.
As for Wayne Simmonds, his appearances have become somewhat of a rarity. He has not played since a February 1st loss to the Boston Bruins. In 13 games this season, he has produced 1 assist, and has been in 2 fights. And while Simmonds does not produce much in the way of offence, he does add physicality to the lineup (33 registered hits this season) and as everyone knows, is not afraid to drop the gloves. Perhaps we see some fireworks tonight in the Battle of Ontario.
| POLL | ||
18 MARS | 244 ANSWERS Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe confirms two roster changes ahead of tonight's Battle of Ontario Will Wayne Simmonds drop the gloves tonight? | ||
| Yes | 169 | 69.3 % |
| No | 75 | 30.7 % |
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