Sunday: Toronto head coach Craig Berube expects Oliver Ekman-Larsson to play tonight, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. In 77 games on the season, the defender produced 29 points and a plus-14 rating. He missed the final four games of the season with an upper-body injury.
Saturday: Defenseman Jani Hakanpää will be the only rostered player on the Toronto Maple Leafs who won’t be available for the team in their Round One matchup against the Ottawa Senators. In an article from Luke Fox of Sportsnet, Fox reports that defensemen Jake McCabe, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and forwards David Kämpf and Max Pacioretty will be available for Toronto on Monday.
Given that the Maple Leafs have few issues scoring goals, McCabe and Ekman-Larsson are the most notable returnees, particularly concerning the team’s penalty kill. Despite finishing the year with a 77.87% success rate, Toronto’s kill average dropped to 75.00% throughout their final seven games without McCabe. The Maple Leafs’ penalty kill ranked just below the NHL average of 78.36%, which could be an avenue to success for Ottawa, given their capable 11th-ranked powerplay.
With respect to the Senators and their season, they arguably present Toronto with their best opportunity to reach Round Two of the postseason for the second time in nine years. After finishing the regular season on a 12-2-1 tear, having a wholly healthy roster for Round One will do nothing but help the Maple Leafs’ chances.
Other injury notes from the Atlantic Division:
- Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper confirmed that trade deadline acquisition Oliver Bjorkstrand won’t be available for the team’s Round One matchup against the Florida Panthers (Tweet Link). Bjorkstrand sustained a lower-body injury a few days ago, and his Round One availability was in doubt, given that his recovery timeline was designated as week-to-week. The Herning, Denmark native scored five goals and nine points in 18 games for the Lightning after being acquired from the Seattle Kraken before the trade deadline.
- According to Rachel Hopmayer of CBS Detroit, Detroit Red Wings forward Elmer Söderblom is expected to join the team’s AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins, for the Calder Cup playoffs once his undisclosed injury has healed. In his first extended stay in the NHL since the 2022-23 season, Söderblom scored four goals and 11 points in 26 games for the Red Wings after being recalled in late January. His addition will boost the Griffins’ postseason chances, given Söderblom scored five goals and 17 points in 38 games with Grand Rapids earlier this season.
It seems Detroit has assigned Soderbolm to Grand Rapids.
The Leafs – Sens series starts on Sunday not Monday.
At least Soderblom has a chance to play in some playoff. Hope he’s healthy enough to see some AHL playoff action.