The Leafs will get a MAJOR boost on Saturday against Ottawa
It has been a long month for the Toronto Maple Leafs and their fans, but perhaps even longer for superstar winger Mitch Marner, who was injured during practice at the beginning of the month after a collision with teammate Jake Muzzin.
On Saturday, the Leafs are kicking off 2022 with a bang after activating Marner from LTIR, ahead of the team's first game since December 14th, as they play host to the Ottawa Senators this evening.
Marner and Muzzin appeared to have shared a heated exchange following the hit that led to Marner's shoulder injury, but, as Marner had confirmed earlier this week, there was never any ill will between the two players, who remain very close. Marner calls Muzzin one of his best friends.
Marner has missed a total of 6 games for the Leafs, but it could have been a lot worse for the Buds, were it not for a series of postponements that has delayed games against the Flames, Canucks, Kraken, Blues, Blue Jackets and Penguins over the past couple of weeks.
The 24-year-old got off to a fairly slow start this season by his standards, but had turned things around significantly prior to his injury. The Markham, ON native has 21 points through 24 games this season.
Marner is expected to return to his role as the primary setup man to goalscoring phenom Auston Matthews, with Michael Bunting playing the opposite flank on the Leafs' top line.
Happy New Year from all of us at LetsGoLeafs.com! We're excited to see the Leafs' season resume this evening against the Sens in the always thrilling Battle of Ontario.
