The Toronto Maple Leafs will be forced to cope with a familiar hole on their blue line when they visit the Utah Mammoth in Salt Lake City on Tuesday night.
Toronto’s 6-3 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday was tempered by the departure of veteran defenseman Chris Tanev midway through the first period. Tanev skated in just five shifts in the opening frame, recording 3:29 of ice time. The 36-year-old was placed on injured reserve Sunday and will miss at least the next three games.
The Toronto native’s health was a subject of much speculation heading into the new season. A season-ending groin injury in December 2025 limited Tanev to just 11 games last year. In his absence, Toronto Marlies defenseman Marshall Rifai was called up from the AHL on Sunday.
“It’s always tough. I mean, he’s a heart-and-soul guy,” Leafs captain Auston Matthews said of Tanev. “He plays a big role in our back end — shutdown guy — so you’re hoping it’s nothing serious and that he’ll be alright. But we’ll see. Obviously it’s a tough loss.”
Jake McCabe may be thrust into a more prominent role as the only genuine defensive defenseman in the Leafs’ top four.
The picture is much rosier for Toronto’s offense, which sat tied for the Atlantic Division lead in goals (20) ahead of Monday’s three-game slate. Matthews enjoyed his first two-goal outing in 31 games in Saturday’s victory in Denver while the club’s leading scorer in 2025-26, William Nylander, matched a career-high five points off two goals and three assists.
“I was just going out there playing,” Nylander said. “I got some really nice passes to be able to score those two goals.”
The 4-2-0 Mammoth return home after a five-game road trip full of extreme highs and extreme lows. Utah bounced back from a 6-1 drubbing at the hands of the Boston Bruins with a commanding 4-1 win over Buffalo on Saturday. The team’s league-leading power play (10-for-25, 40%) scored twice and often seemed a step ahead of the Sabres’ sluggish penalty kill.
“Obviously, the power play was big again tonight,” said offseason acquisition Anders Lee, who tallied a goal and an assist. “And I think for the most part, we made good puck decisions. And if they did make a play, it’s because it’s the game and not because we gave it to them.”
Utah will hope for a repeat performance on the man advantage against 3-2-1 Toronto’s new-look penalty kill, which is riding a 95% success rate. Four of leading scorer Nick Schmaltz’s six tallies on the season have come on the power play.
“This early in the year, when everyone’s getting their feet under them, and we played in a lot of tough buildings with some good hockey teams, it’s a good trip,” Lee said. “Now we have an opportunity to go home, get some rest over the weekend, and get in front of our fans again this coming week, so we’re pumped about that.”
Leafs center John Tavares was absent on Saturday for the birth of his child but is expected to return to the lineup on Tuesday.
Toronto has won three of four previous matchups between the two teams.
–Field Level Media
