A pair of Leafs absent for Monday's practice, leading to illness/injury concerns

The Leafs have reported several illnesses over the past week, beginning with Auston Matthews on Thursday, forcing the reigning MVP to miss Thursday's game in Detroit, though he was also dealing with an injury, which only further complicated matters.

On Saturday, the Leafs were forced to hold forwards Pontus Holmberg and Bobby McMann out of the lineup as well against the Boston Bruins. In both cases, the Leafs came up short, falling to the Wings by a score of 4-1, and being edged out by the red hot Bruins by a score of 4-3.

Now, with the team back at practice on Monday, it would appear as though the illness that has been running through the Leafs' locker room has claimed another victim. While earlier reports confirmed that McMann was well enough to return to practice, the same could not be said for Holmberg, who was absent yet again. It's also worth noting that Holmberg spilled hard into the boards on Thursday in Detroit and could be a little banged up from that as well. In addition, Rasmus Sandin was also not on the ice on Monday for the Leafs' practice.

It's unclear at this point whether Sandin is dealing with the same illness or an unrelated illness or injury, but we'd expect to hear something from head coach Sheldon Keefe following practice. Thankfully, if Sandin does indeed miss Tuesday's game against the Florida Panthers, the Leafs are pretty deep on defense. We'll likely see Jordie Benn slot in if Sandin is indeed unable to play.