Craig Berube Hints At Possible Return Date For Injured Leafs Forward Steven Lorentz

Injured in the first period of Saturday's game on a hit from Wings blueliner Ben Chiarot, Lorentz was held out of the rest of the game with what the team listed as an upper-body injury.

After practice on Sunday, Berube shared that Lorentz was 'doubtful' for Monday's rematch against Detroit, which was confirmed during the morning skate.

Following the club's morning skate, Berube provided a very surprising update on the 29-year-old Stanley Cup Champion. The Leafs' bench boss revealed that there is a possibility Lorentz could return to the lineup as early as Tuesday against the Nashville Predators after he skated by himself on Monday morning.

Without Lorentz in the lineup on Monday, the Leafs are without two-thirds of what was supposed to be their fourth line as he joins Scott Laughton in the press-box -- who is still out week-to-week with a lower-body injury.

Lorentz's absence Monday gives rookie Easton Cowan the opportunity to finally make his long awaited NHL debut, on the Leafs' top line no less, with Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies in the hopes of sparking some offense from the top-six.

Should Cowan play as well as he did during the pre-season and Lorentz is able to play on Tuesday, it will be interesting to see who Berube chooses to pull from the lineup to get his reliable fourth-liner back into the rotation.