Toronto Maple Leafs News

Rifai and Maxime Lajoie will sit on Thursday as Morgan Rielly and William Lagesson will draw back into the Leafs' lineup. Rifai is pointless through two games with the Leafs this season.

Rielly has finished serving his five-game suspension and will return to the Maple Leafs lineup on the road in Vegas on Thursday night. Before his suspension, Rielly was having a terrific season and was amid a season-best five-game point streak with six points (0G / 6A).

Joshua hurt his hand in a fight on February 13th against Chicago and has been placed on Injured Reserve retroactive to the same date of his injury. The 27-year-old had been enjoying a breakout season in his fourth year in the NHL, with 13 goals, 26 points, 69 SOG, 46 PIMs and +16 plus/minus in 53 games before his injury.

Boris Katchouk will be a healthy scratch on Wednesday, allowing Johnson to re-enter the Blackhawks' lineup. Johnson has played only one of the last six games for the Blackhawks. He has three points (2G / 1A), 42 shots, and 96 hits in 34 games this season.

Jesse Ylönen will draw back into the lineup on Wednesday, resulting in Pezzetta being a healthy scratch. Pezzetta has played in 22 straight games for the Canadiens, tallying seven points (1G / 6A) in the process.

Woll has not played since December 7th due to an ankle injury and, after participating in practice the last two weeks, will join the Marlies (AHL) for a conditioning stint. When the 25-year-old returns to the lineup, he will be looking to build off his strong start to the season and add to his 8-5-1 record, 2.80 GAA, and .916 SV%.

Mermis had been a regular in the lineup for six weeks before being a healthy scratch in the last two games. The 30-year-old Mermis has seven points (2G / 5A) in 37 games this season while primarily playing on a defensive pair with Jon Merrill, who will draw out of the lineup in favour of Mermis on Tuesday.

Thrun has not played since January 23rd due to a shoulder injury, missing the last six games. The 22-year-old Thrun has three points (1G / 2A), 28 shots, and 39 blocks in 23 games this season.

Tavares has missed two of the last three games, one with an illness and, most recently, an undisclosed injury, but will return to the lineup Monday afternoon. In his last outing, Tavares played 20:54 time-on-ice and recorded three shots on goal. The veteran forward is averaging an impressive 3.7 shots per game over his last 10.

Rifai has played the last two seasons with the Toronto Marlies and has 11 points (2G / 9A) in 34 games this season. He is expected to skate on the third defensive pair with Maxime Lajoie.

Tavares has missed two of the last three games, one with an illness and most recently an undisclosed injury, but is trending toward a return to the lineup. In his last outing, Tavares played 20:54 time-on-ice and recorded three shots on goal. The veteran forward is averaging an impressive 3.7 shot per game over his last 10.