With an extra day to prepare for Game 4 in this first-round matchup with the Boston Bruins, the Leafs are expected to return with reinforcements when the teams battle here again on Saturday night.
That would include William Nylander, who has yet to appear in this best-of-seven due to an undisclosed injury suffered in the final week of the regular season. He is trending toward a return to the lineup, according to league sources, after skating multiple times in recent days.
The Leafs should also have top-line center Auston Matthews back in better health after he played through an illness during Wednesday’s 4-2 loss. That explains why he was the only regular to miss the morning skate at Scotiabank Arena — opting instead for more rest — and helps account in part for a night when he didn’t look like his usual explosive self though still logging another 23-plus minutes.
Learning that AM34 was battling the scoots makes it all make sense