Maple Leafs’ Oliver Ekman-Larsson day-to-day with lower-body injury after leaving vs. Oilers

Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Oliver Ekman Larsson left Saturday’s game against the Edmonton Oilers with a lower-body injury and did not return.

Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube told reporters post-game that he didn’t see when the injury occurred and listed him as day-to-day, while stating that Ekman-Larsson needed to undergo further evaluation via David Alter of The Hockey News.

Ekman-Larsson wasn’t on the bench during the second period, and it’s unclear when he suffered the injury. He was ruled out shortly after the third period began. Ekman-Larsson played 5:09 and took a penalty in the first period, before exiting the contest.

Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube had to make a few adjustments throughout the game, with Simon Benoit taking regular shifts in Ekman-Larsson’s absence alongside Morgan Rielly. Jake McCabe finished with a team-high 30:22, Chris Tanev played 26:37, Rielly played 22:10, while Benoit finished with 16:58 in the winning effort.

 

Ekman-Larsson signed a four-year, $14-million contract with the Maple Leafs in free agency, coming off a Stanley Cup victory with the Florida Panthers. He’s operated as Toronto’s No. 3 defenceman behind McCabe and Tanev and has played in different situations, with occasional power play minutes throughout the year. Ekman-Larsson has recorded three goals and 21 points this season with a plus-15 rating, while averaging over 21 minutes per game.

Ekman-Larsson has been an integral part of the team, and if he misses any time at all, Philippe Myers could be reinserted into the lineup, or the Maple Leafs could elect to call up Marshall Rifai from the AHL’s Toronto Marlies.

Toronto withstood Ekman-Larsson’s absence and recorded a 4-3 victory over the Edmonton Oilers in a thrilling contest. Joseph Woll was the difference, with 45 saves, including a game-winning stop on Corey Perry with the clock expiring, breaking a three-game losing skid.

Toronto resumes its schedule Tuesday against the Calgary Flames, before taking on the Seattle Kraken on Thursday, then finish its four-game road stand against the Vancouver Canucks on February 8.

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