TORONTO – T.J. Brodie is back.
And yet, if you were to look at the Toronto Maple Leafs’ incredible record in his absence (9-0-3), you might’ve guessed he never left.
“At the end of the day, I want to be back in, no matter what. But the guys have been rolling,” said Brodie, who needed nearly a month to recover from an oblique injury suffered Nov. 11 in Pittsburgh. “It's been awesome to watch.”
Indeed.
Toronto hasn’t lost in regulation in its 12 games without Brodie, the second-longest such stretch in franchise history.
Coach Sheldon Keefe reasons that his group’s ability to defend despite being down Brodie, Morgan Rielly (knee) and Jake Muzzin (spine) is because of the nature of the ultimate team sport.
“When you lose someone, if everyone else can elevate just a little bit, you can cope,” Keefe says.
Brodie finished that November game in Pittsburgh and tried to take warmup the following night to keep his perfect attendance as a Maple Leaf intact.
“I just couldn’t shoot,” he says. “If I can’t do that, the battles and stuff are going to be tough.”
The dependable defenceman thought it better to get his core checked out and cede his lineup spot, opening opportunity for fresh faces like Mac Hollowell and Conor Timmins.
Brodie added shooting to his rehabilitation last week and was medically cleared to return Tuesday in Dallas. But the play of the red-hot Leafs has given the organization the luxury of caution.
The versatile Brodie will start to the left of Timmins on the third pairing Thursday versus the visiting Los Angeles Kings, but Keefe expects to move him up to the top four and skate with various partners as the game develops.
The biggest challenge, Brodie says, will be the mental side of dialing back in on a game day.
Record be damned, Toronto’s resilient defence corps couldn’t be more thrilled to welcome a stabilizing presence like Brodie back into the fold, especially with depth D-man Victor Mete suffering a lower-body injury Tuesday.
“It’s huge. Bring in a guy who plays big minutes back in the lineup, plays all situations — it’s gonna be huge,” Mark Giordano says.
“Nice for us to get him back. When he was out, you saw how we all kinda bound together and stepped up and took care of those minutes. But you can’t replace a guy like that, for sure.”
One-Timers: We’re going streaking. Starting goalie Ilya Samsonov will look to extend his perfect 6-0-0 home record as a Maple Leaf, and Mitch Marner will try to push his point streak to 21 games…. Denis Malgin returns to the lineup. He hasn’t played since November and hasn’t scored since October…. Semyon Der-Arguchintsev was returned to the Marlies after skating just 7:16 with a giveaway in his NHL debut in Dallas.… Jordie Benn (upper body) is back on the ice but not ready to participate in full practice…. Rielly (knee) has not resumed skating, but Keefe says he has not deviated from his original recovery timeline.
Maple Leafs projected lines vs. Los Angeles Kings Thursday
Bunting – Matthews – Nylander
Robertson – Tavares – Marner
Kerfoot – Kämpf – Engvall
Aston-Reese – Holmberg – Malgin
Giordano – Holl
Sandin – Liljegren
Brodie – Timmins
Samsonov starts
Murray
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