The Maple Leafs just announced that Colton Sissons will not return tonight against the Devils because of a lower-body injury.
Toronto is still playing in the third period as we write, so the result is still to come. The news that matters right now is the roster. A team that was already banged up has lost another forward before the final horn.
Leafslatest passed along the team's announcement that Sissons left late in the second period and played 9:55 before the Leafs ruled him out for the rest of the game.
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The same post adds that the Leafs have lost several players to injury or maintenance over the last 24 hours. The names are cut off in the text we have, so we won't guess who else is on that list.
Sissons is a 33-year-old center with 2 goals and 4 assists in 18 games this season. He logged 13:18 with an assist in Saturday's 4-2 loss to Montreal, so tonight's 9:55 was already a lighter shift before the injury.
The Leafs came into the night at 8-8-2 and having lost two straight. They were not in a position to shed bodies.
How long will Sissons be out for Toronto?
Nobody has said. The team called it a lower-body injury and offered no timetable, and Sissons is not listed with any injury on the sheet we have, which only reflects the news before tonight.
The next real answer likely comes Tuesday, when the Leafs host Colorado. Coach Jim Hiller will face questions about who is available and who is not.
Losing a bottom-line center in the middle of a game is not what sinks a season. Stacked on top of a 24-hour run of injuries, though, it leaves Toronto with fewer healthy options every time the schedule turns. A lineup that is 8-8-2 has little room for that, and the Leafs have a lot of explaining to do if this list keeps growing.
Quick hits
WINNIPEG JETS: Mark Scheifele won it with 0.3 seconds left, beating the Lightning 4-3 tonight. You can't cut it much finer than that, and the Jets will take every bit of it.
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ANAHEIM DUCKS: Jackson LaCombe tied the franchise record for the longest assist streak at 10 games, matching Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry. That's some company for a defenseman. The next game gives him a chance to own it outright.
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CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS: Patrick Kane has been placed on injured reserve, and the Blackhawks recalled goalie Drew Commesso. No word yet in the summary on the nature of the injury, so Chicago fans will be waiting on details.
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TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING: Defenseman Erik Cernak left the ice in discomfort to his left leg during the Jets' power play in the third period tonight. It's a bad way to end a one-goal loss, and an update is the next thing to watch.
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VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS: Mitch Marner recorded his 100th point with the Golden Knights, a franchise benchmark, in a 4-1 win in Buffalo tonight. Vegas got both the win and the milestone.
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Are the Maple Leafs too thin to survive this injury wave?
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