Surprising News to Announce Regarding Injured Maple Leafs Winger Max Pacioretty
Maple Leafs winger Max Pacioretty surprised many with a speedy return to Maple Leafs practice just days after suffering a lower-body injury.
These last two games have been less than ideal for the Maple Leafs and have left the fan base and the coaching staff frustrated. Not only have the games themselves been a mess, losing 6-2 to Columbus and 5-1 to St. Louis in a pair of games that the Leafs should have dominated, but they also had some bumps and bruises along the way, losing Pacioretty on Tuesday and then having Matthew Knies and Ryan Reaves banged up by awkward spills on Thursday.
Surprisingly, after being given a day-to-day injury designation on Thursday, Pacioretty was back on the ice for Leafs practice on Friday before the Leafs depart for Boston later in the day ahead of tomorrow's grudge match against the Bruins, who eliminated the Leafs in Round 1 of the 2023-24 Playoffs.
It's unclear as to exactly what had occurred during the game in Columbus to cause Pacioretty's injury, and Berube and company did not provide any specifics, other than to say that it was a lower-body ailment and that Pacioretty would be sidelined and should be considered day-to-day.
The veteran forward turns 36 years old next month and while he is looked at as a key contributor in the middle six, Pacioretty is not the one who will decide whether or not the Leafs will succeed or fail this season. It's going to be up to the team's high-priced core to figure things out. Still, there's no denying that depth is important and that Pacioretty can play an important role for this team as a 3rd line mentor and second power play contributor.
Through 5 games with the Leafs thus far, Pacioretty has already notched 2 goals, is a +2 on the season and has fired 7 shots on goal in a little over 11 minutes of ice time per game on average.
