Leafs lose yet another defenseman to injury in win over Florida
The Maple Leafs are already without defensemen Timothy Liljegren and John Klingberg and, following their dramatic 2-1 win over Florida, they will now be without the services of veteran Mark Giordano as well.
Giordano was injured with just under five minutes to go in the first period of last night's shootout victory over the Panthers. The injury appeared to happen when he blocked a shot before Panthers forward Kevin Stenlund scored off of the rebound of that blocked shot. Following the play, Giordano was spotted by the Leafs' bench with his glove off, examining the damage of what appeared to be a shot block with his hand.
Giordano's removal from the game forced the Leafs to play with five defensemen the rest of the game and saw Morgan Rielly play almost half of the game (30:30 TOI). Prior to his injury, Giordano had played 6:31 of the first period. The 40-year-old Giordano has averaged 18:28 ice time through 19 games this season. He began the year on the team's third pairing, but due to injuries to Klingberg, McCabe and Liljegren, he has been elevated to a top-four role at times.
Following the game, Sheldon Keefe admitted he did not have the final report on Giordano but did say, "it looks like he is going to miss time." Keefe also touched on the Leafs' blueline and how they are running out of depth.
Keefe's comments regarding the lack of depth on the blueline currently was something that GM Brad Treliving had touched on earlier in the week when he met with reporters and it was something he acknowledged he was looking to add to.
With the injury to Giordano, it would not be surprising if Treliving stepped up his efforts to add a defenseman and help shelter the minutes of William Lagesson, Simon Benoit and Conor Timmins as he still looks to get back into game shape.
| POLL | ||
NOVEMBRE 29 | 490 ANSWERS Leafs lose yet another defenseman to injury in win over Florida Will Brad Treliving trade for a defenseman in the next week or two with Giordano's injury? | ||
| Yes, should have happened already | 364 | 74.3 % |
| No, teams know he's desperate and raise the price | 126 | 25.7 % |
| List of polls | ||
