Two injured Leafs cleared to play tonight in Calgary; Can the Buds make it 7 straight?
The Leafs will start their Western road swing with a huge boost, as head coach Sheldon Keefe has confirmed that veteran defender Jake Muzzin has been given the green light to return to action, as has sharpshooter Auston Matthews.
The news comes at a great time for the Buds, who are currently enjoying a 6-game winning streak, heading into matchups with Calgary, Vancouver and Seattle. The Flames, winners of their last 4, are coming off of a huge win against Vegas on Wednesday night.
Matthews had been taken out of Monday's game at the end of the third period after catching an inadvertent knee to the side/back of the head, which left him shaken up and in need of some attention from the team's medical staff. He sat out of practice on Tuesday, but did attend the team's training facility that day before returning to practice on Wednesday and confirming to the media that he felt great.
Muzzin has been sidelined since January 15th due to a concussion that he had suffered during a game against the St. Louis Blues. Muzzin took several practices, both with and without a red non-contact jersey, before being shut down in advance of the All-Star break. This week, Muzzin was a full participant in all 3 practices and was cleared for full contact.
The Leafs have have several stretches where they have won 5+ games, but they have yet to string together 7 consecutive wins. With two of their big guns being cleared to go on Thursday, the Buds could have their first 7-game win streak of the season with a win in Calgary.
