Scott Laughton absent from Maple Leafs morning skate ahead of Lightning game
Photo credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
Toronto Maple Leafs forward Scott Laughton was absent from the Maple Leafs' morning skate, as Matias Maccelli took his place ahead of Monday's game vs. Tampa Bay.
The Maple Leafs head into Monday night looking to bounce back from a 2-1 shootout loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night. It will be up to Dennis Hildeby to patrol the crease while Toronto's goalies heal up, and their lineup has to keep playing the way they have recently.
Though practice saw one absence that is crucial, although seems to be more of a precaution than anything.
Scott Laughton misses practice ahead of critical game vs. Lightning
The Maple Leafs' morning skate saw the absence of Scott Laughton, with Matias Maccelli taking his place in practice.
The lineup shows everything is pretty standard, although David Alter did mention that Maccelli is likely a placeholder for Laughton, who has not been publicly announced to be missing the game.
One thing to also note is that Nick Robertson was an extra, and head coach Craig Berube confirmed that Robertson would be out of the lineup, with Calle Jarnkrok subbing in.
Robertson was fairly solid as of late, however only has two points over his last 10 games, so Berube likely wants to just give him a reset.
The Maple Leafs have not officially announced a lineup.
Laughton, 31, returned from injury on November 5th after missing the first month of the season with a lower-body injury, only to be hurt again shortly after against Boston.
Since returning a second time he's picked it up offensively lately with goals in three straight, and has helped Toronto's PK unit be as consistent and solid as can be.
Toronto can't afford to lose Laughton right now
Although it doesn't look too concerning for the Maple Leafs right now regarding Laughton, if he does miss more time it's going to be difficult for Toronto.
Not only because Laughton is bringing more offense to the bottom-six, but his help on the penalty kill has been something Toronto needed help with, and can't afford to lose him.
They've killed off over 90% of their penalties since Laughton returned, and he's really brought the fourth line of himself, Steven Lorentz and Nick Robertson together as a cohesive, scrappy trio.
The team is also finally playing with a consistent lineup, where the constant shuffling is on the back burner for now, with everyone having found a role for now.
A Laughton injury would throw that off-kilter, and Craig Berube would need to make some changes that may not benefit the team.
While it's nothing to be concerned about right now, if we hear that Laughton is missing Monday's game, then it could cause major issues for Toronto as they head into a very important stretch of games.
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 8 | 930 ANSWERS Scott Laughton absent from Maple Leafs morning skate ahead of Lightning game Do you think Scott Laughton is injured again or just resting? | ||
| Injured Again | 300 | 32.3 % |
| Rest Time! | 630 | 67.7 % |
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