According to a team announcement, the Toronto Maple Leafs have activated defenseman Chris Tanev from their injured reserve. Tanev’s activation was alluded to in an earlier report from David Alter of The Hockey News.
Tanev’s activation before tonight’s contest against the Florida Panthers will limit his games missed to six. His last contest came against the Boston Bruins on February 25th, when Tanev left the game after two shifts following a hit along the boards from John Beecher. The rugged blueliner was seen donning a sling after the contest.
Since he only missed a handful of games, and Toronto was already well-within playoff positioning, Tanev’s absence wasn’t crippling to the Maple Leafs but it was noticeable. PHR’s Josh Erickson summed up the areas lacking in Toronto’s game throughout Tanev’s absence, writing, “They’ve struggled to control play at 5-on-5 with a 43.7 CF%, a number Tanev’s return will undoubtedly help boost. While his raw 47.4 CF% at even strength on the year isn’t particularly impressive, he dominates shot quality over quantity and leads the team with a +8.8 expected rating and +26 actual rating.”
Although the Maple Leafs would undoubtedly prefer Tanev to participate in every game this season, his return arguably couldn’t come at a better time. Toronto will share the top spot in the Atlantic Division should they best Florida tonight, although the Panthers have the first tiebreaker. Still, with two more games against Florida remaining on the schedule after tonight, Tanev and the Maple Leafs should be locked in a heated battle down the stretch for home-ice advantage through the first two postseason rounds.