Leafs expect Ryan O’Reilly back before playoffs. Until then, it’s next man up again

NEWARK, N.J.—The little black cloud that has been following the Maple Leafs showed up again Monday, with Ryan O’Reilly placed on long-term injured reserve and John Tavares ruled out for Tuesday’s game against the New Jersey Devils.

Tests showed O’Reilly suffered a broken left index finger — hit by an Auston Matthews slapshot — in Saturday’s 4-1 loss in Vancouver. Tavares, meanwhile, was rocked by a Tyler Myers hit and finished the game, but reported to Monday’s practice “not feeling himself,” coach Sheldon Keefe said.

The Tavares situation was curious. He practised in a grey jersey (worn by players destined to be healthy scratches) instead of red (for injured players not cleared for full contact). Players with a contagious illness tend to be kept away from the rest of the team. Keefe acknowledged Tavares has a concussion history, but made it sound like the team wasn’t sure what is ailing the veteran centre.

“You’re a little bit more mindful, but there’s a lot more,” said Keefe. “There’s a bug going around. We’ve been travelling a lot. There’s lots happening. We want to be sure. He got through the entire practice. He felt good. But I think more so on our side of it than his, we just said: Let’s just be cautious on this one. And as long as he continues to progress, he’ll be ready to go for Saturday (against the Edmonton Oilers).”

Tavares missed almost all of the 2021 playoffs after a knee to the head in the first period of Game 1 against Montreal, a factor in the team’s cautious approach.

O’Reilly’s injury, less than three weeks after arriving in a trade with St. Louis, brings to mind another veteran forward: Nick Foligno, who was hurt soon after becoming a Leaf in 2021 and, while he played in the post-season, never fully healed.

“When you get him, you get excited because you know what he can bring,” Keefe said of O’Reilly, the prized pickup among the Leafs’ six deadline acquisitions. “So to lose him, certainly, it’s tough and disappointing. But we’ve acquired him to be healthy, ready to go for the playoffs, and that will be the case.

“It’s not bad in terms of what the bigger picture is, especially with the nature of the injury. He won’t miss much time actually on the ice skating.”

Broken fingers tend to take four to six weeks to heal, but that can vary. O’Reilly will be out until at least March 29 — players on long-term injured reserve must miss a minimum of 10 games and 24 days.

With defenceman Luke Schenn also out for the New Jersey game — the former Canuck stayed in Vancouver with his wife, who is expecting — there will be several changes to a lineup that has seen its fair share this season.

“In essence, you go back to the way we were,” said Keefe. “We played a lot of hockey this season without O’Reilly and we were an elite team. I don’t see too much change in there in terms of my approach or our mindset as a team.”

But there has been a lot of turnover. At practice, Alex Kerfoot remained on the top line with Matthews and Mitch Marner, while Michael Bunting worked out with call-ups Pontus Holmberg and Alex Steeves. Bunting — who has played in the top six in the past — was clearly uncomfortable answering questions about his new role on the fourth line.

“It doesn’t matter what line I’m on, I’ll play my same game and bring the impact every single night and nothing changes on my end, to be honest,” said Bunting.

But there was a message from Keefe.

“I just want him to worry about his game,” said Keefe. “This is a chance for him to focus on his game, get back to being the player that we know he can be in terms of playmaking ability, in terms of finishing ability, competitiveness, speed. Just really get back to that. There’s a bit of a mental block there for him right now, and we’re trying to help him through that.”

Forward Sam Lafferty, another deadline acquisition, skated between Calle Järnkrok and William Nylander. Zach Aston-Reese, a recent healthy scratch, was back on the third line with David Kämpf and Noel Acciari.

On defence, Timothy Liljegren, a healthy scratch recently, practised with Morgan Rielly.

“Liljegren has played good for us all season. We’ve had a pulled back on him here the last a little bit, to give Schenn and (Erik) Gustafsson a chance to get in and get comfortable with our group,” said Keefe. “Our team is deeper on defence now than it was prior to the deadline. So, the standard is higher in terms of staying in and competing.”

The day had a training camp feel — new lines, new pairings, coaches feeling things out — but Keefe bristled at that notion.

“We’ve made a bigger deal about the changes than I think we need to,” said Keefe. “The changes have been nothing but a positive. The more time that passes, we will get better as a group. But to (blame roster moves for) our performance ... that is just letting us off the hook too easily, frankly.”

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