The San Jose Sharks are in town to take on the Toronto Maple Leafs, who will take to the ice at Scotiabank Arena for the first time in 2024 tonight. With the Leafs coming off of a 4-1 win in San Jose on Saturday, they'll hope to keep up the momentum against the Pacific Division bottom-feeder, but according to Sheldon Keefe, the Leafs may not be able to ice the same roster tonight.
During practice on Monday, the Leafs had Ryan Reaves and Nicholas Robertson skating as extras. However, it would appear as though one of them may get back into game action tonight, thanks to a nasty flu bug going around the locker room again. Sheldon told the media following Tuesday's morning skate that Robertson may draw back in as a result.
Robertson has taken some important steps this season, most notably by having displayed his ability to remain healthy for the first time as a pro. That isn't enough for Keefe and company, though, as the Leafs are very much in win now mode and require everyone to be firing on all cylinders on a consistent basis. Robertson, with his 5 goals and 6 assists in 24 games, has been anything but consistent.
Keefe is looking for guys to come in and grab ahold of a job. Earlier this season, we saw rookie sensation Fraser Minten win a spot out of camp and then almost immediately returned to his junior club when he wasn't able to produce after 4 games. Robertson has received a lot more leash before finally being scratched, so if he does get into tonight's game, he'll have to put together a strong game to avoid heading right back to the press box later this week.
