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).

Bobrovsky will start for the third straight game on Thursday as the Panthers look to extend their six-game winning streak. Bobrovsky has been tremendous lately, posting a stellar .944 SV% during a seven-game winning streak while allowing two or fewer goals in each contest. That said, the Panthers are slight +102 road underdogs against the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Bobrovsky will return to the crease for the fifth time in the last six games for the Panthers on Tuesday night. The All-Star netminder is riding a six-game winning streak and has been sensational throughout, allowing two or fewer goals in each contest and posting a marvellous .946 SV%. The Panthers have a favourable matchup on Tuesday against the Ottawa Senators, whom Bobrovsky made a 20-save shutout against earlier this season.

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.

Joshua injured his hand in a fight against Chicago on February 13th and will now be out week-to-week as he recovers. The 27-year-old depth forward was having a breakout season prior to his injury, with 13 goals, 13 assists, 46 PIMs, 69 SOG, and +16 plus/minus through 53 games played.

Mermis has been a regular in the lineup for the last six weeks but will be a healthy scratch on Saturday against the Buffalo Sabres. 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.