Craig Berube Shares Initial Update on Injury to Leafs' Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Photo credit: Imagn Images
Leafs head coach Craig Berube has provided an initial update on Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who left Saturday's win over the Oilers due to injury.
At the time, his injury was unknown, but forced the Leafs to play with five defencemen and also had them rely a little too heavily on
Simon Benoit and
Conor Timmins for the final 40 minutes.
Following a nail-biting third period that saw the Oilers' tying goal called back because of an offside, Berube was able to provide a bit of clarity on the type of injury to the 15-year NHL veteran, noting that Ekman-Larsson was considered "day-to-day".
"We've got to evaluate him a little bit more. Lower body. We'll see where he's at tomorrow."
Berube provided very minimal information about the injury, admitting that he didn't know when, where or how it happened.
"I didn't even see it happen. He left the bench. So we were down to five (defensemen), and the trainer said he wasn't coming back."
The Swedish blueliner had been a staple on the back end for the Leafs so far this season, missing just one of the previous 50 games due to illness.
His 21 points are second among Leafs defenders, behind only
Morgan Rielly, and his absence will surely be felt as he had six points in five games heading into Saturday's clash with the Oilers.
The Leafs have just three games remaining until the Four Nations break, meaning that we may not see the 33-year-old in the lineup until the NHL season resumes after the tournament.
The 2009 first-round pick joined the Leafs this past off-season
on a four-year, $14M deal just days after helping the Florida Panthers win the Stanley Cup after stops in Arizona and Vancouver previously.
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FEVRIER 2 | 1987 ANSWERS Craig Berube Shares Initial Update on Injury to Leafs' Oliver Ekman-Larsson Does losing OEL change the Leafs' deadline plans? |
No, they need a center more | 844 | 42.5 % |
Yes, need a top-four D now | 1143 | 57.5 % |
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