Maple Leafs goalkeeper Petr Mrázek continues to fight bad news on the injury front, and the club announced Sunday that he has been placed on long-term injured reserve with a groin injury.
The LTIR placement is retroactive to Nov. 4, and the Leafs added that Mrázek is expected to miss four weeks.
Mrázek is suffering his second setback from a groin injury this season. He left the game after two stints with the same injury when he made his debut with the Leafs on October 14. He came back for just one game, a win over Detroit, on October 30, before being knocked out with a recurrence of the injury.
Mrázek is 1-1 so far, averaging 4.20 goals against and a .877 save percentage.
The Leafs will play 13 games without Mrázek, if he remains in LTIR for the full four weeks.
Toronto is expected to retire Michael Hutchinson to take on the role of backup for Jack Campbell, who has shone during the team’s five-game winning streak.
Hutchinson is likely to see at least one game this week, as Toronto plays four games, including a Friday and Saturday in a row.
Meanwhile, Campbell had free practice Sunday after leading the Leafs to a win over Boston the night before.
Defender TJ Brodie was also absent from practice. Brodie took a heavy hit from Boston’s David Pastrňák in Saturday night’s game.
Justin Holl, who has been on the bench for the past three games, took Brodie’s place in practice in the defensive pair alongside Jake Muzzin.
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