The Toronto Maple Leafs were forced to finish their contest against the Florida Panthers without centre David Kampf. The fourth liner played 8:10 for Toronto before going to the dressing room, unable to play out the rest of the game. The Leafs played through nearly half the game with just 11 forwards. William Nylander and others filled in for Kampf’s absence on the fourth line.
A few players had some scares for the Maple Leafs in their 3-2 win over the Panthers. Defencemen Brandon Carlo and Oliver Ekman-Larsson both went down on a couple of occasions. If it wasn’t that, they were being checked on the bench by the team’s medical staff. However, bums and bruises are a given when any team plays Florida, especially in a playoff-like atmosphere.
David Kampf Out With Upper-Body Injury
Depending on how long Kampf will be out, there is a hole on Toronto’s fourth line. It’s unclear what instigated his injury, and it’ll be at least a day before the team knows the details. Kampf has been a healthy scratch on a few occasions this season to spread the rotation of players in the lineup. However, he’s a steady NHL player and has made 59 appearances this season.
Kampf was middling the fourth line with Pontus Holmberg and Steven Lorentz on his wings. Luckily, Toronto have plenty of bottom-six depth after some moves by their general manager at the trade deadline. Brad Treliving added Scott Laughton from the Philadelphia Flyers, who’s been acting as a winger on the third line next to Max Domi. However, it likely won’t be Laughton who will be on the fourth line.
Lorentz and Holmberg, as well as Calle Jarnkrok, Nicholas Robertson and Max Pacioretty can fill in. Not to mention the possibility to call players up from the AHL’s Toronto Marlies when the playoffs come around. Alex Steeves could be a top candidate if the Leafs want to go that route.
Toronto’s next game comes against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday. They’ll want another win to separate themselves from Florida and the Tampa Bay Lightning to win the Atlantic Division.
Main Photo Credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
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