In a surprising turn of events, it appears as though Mitch Marner will not dress against the Montreal Canadiens tonight. The Leafs' top winger and Auston Matthews' right hand man was absent from the morning skate today, sparking speculation that he suffered an injury against the Bruins on Thursday.
Marner has racked up 25 goals and 52 assists through 62 games this season. His absence on the Leafs' top line, top powerplay and penalty kill unit will definitely be felt. With Marner absent, William Nylander and Tyler Bertuzzi skated alongside Matthews as part of a massively different set of forward lines from Sheldon Keefe.
The Leafs have been dealing with a flu bug going through the dressing room, so there is a chance Marner isn't injured and is simply under the weather. If it does turn out to be a long-term injury, the timing couldn't possibly be worse with the trade deadline having just passed and the Leafs missing out on making big additions.
At this point, though, all we can hope for is a healthy Mitch Marner back on the ice as soon as possible. At this point, the Leafs are calling it a lower-body injury and have listed Marner as day-to-day.
