Toronto Maple Leafs forward Michael Bunting will return to the lineup for Wednesday’s Game 2 of the Eastern Conference first-round series against the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning, coach Sheldon Keefe announced.
Bunting sustained a knee injury in Toronto’s 3-2 overtime loss to the Florida Panthers on April 23. He missed the Maple Leafs’ final three games of the regular season and series-opening 5-0 victory over the Lightning on Monday.
He will fill a lineup void with Kyle Clifford serving a one-game suspension for his hit on Lightning forward Ross Colton in the series opener.
Bunting, 26, recorded 63 points (23 goals, 40 assists) in 79 games this season, his first with Toronto.
He has 77 points (34 goals, 43 assists) in 105 career games with the Arizona Coyotes and Maple Leafs. He was selected by the then-Phoenix Coyotes in the fourth round of the 2014 NHL Draft.
–Field Level Media
