Leafs Place Chris Tanev on Injured Reserve; Activate Forward for Last-Minute Lineup Change

Tuesday's victory over the Boston Bruins came at the cost of the Leafs losing Chris Tanev to a shoulder injury in the first period.

Following practice on Saturday, Leafs head coach Craig Berube revealed that the 35-year-old was going to miss the next two games against the Penguins and San Jose Sharks at the minimum.

Ahead of Sunday's game in Pittsburgh, the Leafs placed the veteran defenceman on injured reserve, retroactive to February 25th. Given that Tanev's placement is retroactive to the game in which he was injured, he is eligible to be activated ahead of the Leafs' visit to Vegas on Wednesday.

Placing Tanev on IR was a move made to free up a roster spot to activate Connor Dewar. Both Max Domi and Steven Lorentz were absent from practice yesterday and Lorentz did not take to the ice for pre-game warmups on Sunday, indicating that Dewar will draw into his spot on the fourth line alongside David Kampf and Ryan Reaves.

Dewar hasn't played since January 20th, missing the last 11 games due to an upper-body injury. In 29 games this season, the 25-year-old has registered just 3 assists and 79 hits skating primarily on the fourth line and penalty killing role.