Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Jake Muzzin left Game 6 of their First Round series against the Montreal Canadiens and didn’t return. The team released that he’s out with a lower-body injury.
Jake Muzzin (lower body) will not return to tonight‘s game.
— Leafs PR (@LeafsPR) May 30, 2021
Jake Muzzin Out With a Lower Body Injury
In the second period of the game, Muzzin chased after a puck in the neutral zone and grimaced while he was skating. He went to the bench in pain and didn’t return. Muzzin joins captain John Tavares and winger Nick Foligno as Leafs players to miss time in this series.
This is the second straight series Muzzin has been injured. He was hurt in Game 2 of the qualifying round series against the Columbus Blue Jackets last season and didn’t return to the series.
In the regular season, Muzzin logged the third most average ice-time on the team with 21:35. The 31-year-old left-shot defenceman scored four goals, 23 assists for 27 points in 53 games, second among Leafs defencemen in points. He leads the team in shorthanded ice-time, hits and blocks. He has a 51 Corsi For percentage at even-strength.
Toronto traded for Muzzin in January 2019 from the Los Angeles Kings for Sean Durzi, Carl Grundstrom and a first-round pick in 2019 (Tobias Bjornfot). Muzzin was drafted 141st in 2007 by the Pittsburgh Penguins, but he never signed with Pittsburgh and joined the Kings after his junior career ended in 2010. Muzzin played eight seasons with the Kings and won a Stanley Cup in 2014.
What This Means for the Maple Leafs
Jake Muzzin is one of Toronto’s most important defencemen. He plays over 20 minutes a night and is an excellent defensive defenceman. Hopefully, he is not out for longer than this game. If so, Rasmus Sandin will be the most likely candidate to re-enter the line-up, and Morgan Rielly, T.J. Brodie, Justin Holl and Zach Bogosian will be given more ice-time.
Main Photo:
Embed from Getty Images
