Maple Leafs' Marner, Sandin, Dermott out with injuries
The Toronto Maple Leafs will be without forward Mitch Marner and defensemen Rasmus Sandin and Travis Dermott for the foreseeable future.
Marner will miss three-to-four weeks with a shoulder injury after colliding with teammate Jake Muzzin in practice last week, head coach Sheldon Keefe said Tuesday, according to ESPN's Kristen Shilton.
Dermott is also dealing with a shoulder injury, though he isn't expected to be out as long as Marner, Keefe said, per The Athletic's Jonas Siegel.
Sandin is expected to miss two-to-three weeks after taking a knee-on-knee hit from Winnipeg Jets defenseman Neal Pionk on Sunday. Pionk earned a two-game suspension for the collision. Sandin avoided structural damage to his knee, but he's on crutches, Shilton adds.
The Leafs recalled defensemen Alex Biega and Kristians Rubins as well as forward Alex Steeves from the AHL. Toronto is also likely to be without forward Jason Spezza for a few games, as he faces an in-person hearing with the Department of Player Safety on Tuesday for his retaliatory hit on Pionk.
Here's the Leafs' projected lineup for Tuesday's tilt with the Columbus Blue Jackets:
Looking like this will be the Leafs lineup tonight:
- Jonas Siegel (@jonassiegel) December 7, 2021
Bunting - Matthews - Simmonds
Kerfoot- Tavares - Nylander
Ritchie - Kampf - Kase
Clifford - Engvall - Steeves*
Rielly - Brodie
Muzzin - Holl
Rubins* - Liljegren
Campbell starts
*NHL debut
Marner and Sandin have been key contributors for the Leafs this season. Marner's racked up 21 points in 24 games, while Sandin leads all NHL defensemen in expected goals percentage (minimum 300 five-on-five minutes), per Natural Stat Trick.
Dermott has been in and out of the lineup as a healthy scratch, recording two points in 18 games.
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