Following a 7-0 drubbing of the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday, the team was given a day off on Sunday. Days off for the team have been increasing in number of late, as the Leafs have a nasty flu bug going around the locker room at the moment. Ilya Samsonov, William Lagesson, Matthew Knies and Auston Matthews are a few of the players who have battled the illness over the past couple of weeks, but perhaps nobody has had it worse than T.J. Brodie.
Brodie has only missed 1 game with the illness, but could very well miss Tuesday's meeting with the Rangers as well. Brodie was back on the ice on Monday morning, but did not join the team for their actual practice. Instead, he vacated the ice surface early and is expected to get some additional rest today and will be a game-time decision tomorrow. As a result, Simon Benoit skated on the top pair with Morgan Rielly as a placeholder for Brodie.
Per Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe, Brodie has been hit especially hard by the flu bug. He was unable to eat anything at all until this morning, when his breakfast was his first meal since coming down with the illness. Keefe indicated that Brodie was not bouncing back nearly as quick as anyone else who had the flu bug before him.
Brodie's contributions to the team are not often reflected on the scoresheet, as the veteran blueliner has just 6 assists on the season. What he does provide, though, is a calm, confident presence on the back end. He is someone who specializes in the defensive aspects of the game and has shown a tremendous skill set in being able to break up offensive chances for the opposition, both by eliminating the passing option on odd-man rushes and by blocking shots. His presence is certainly missed when he cannot suit up, so the Leafs are hoping to have him back as quickly as possible.
