Leafs down six forwards as Domi is finally forced to the sidelines

Maple Leafs forward Max Domi will sit out Wednesday's game due a nagging lower-body injury. 

"He needs some time off," said head coach Craig Berube. "He needs some rest to get healthy. That's the bottom line. We practised yesterday, but it wasn't doing well."

Domi, who missed the previous two practices due to the undisclosed issue, was the first player off the ice on Tuesday and did not meet with the media despite requests. 

The Leafs don't play again until Sunday when the Utah Hockey Club comes to town.  

"That's a big part of it for sure," Berube said of the light schedule this week. "He wants to play, but we've got to do what's best for him too ... Get some rest and get healed up."

The Leafs will be missing six forwards on Wednesday night. Auston Matthews (upper body), Max Pacioretty (lower body), Calle Jarnkrok (groin and sports hernia surgery), David Kampf (lower body) are also hurt while Ryan Reaves is serving the first game of a five-game suspension. 

"This is what happens during the season," winger William Nylander said. "This might be the most [injuries] we've had in a long time, but, you know, we'll find a way to battle through."

Toronto is 5-1-0 without Matthews in the lineup. Mitch Marner leads the way with 10 points in this stretch. 

"Well, Marner's always a threat," noted Knights coach Bruce Cassidy. "Nylander, I mean, my days in Boston, he was a Bruins killer. We know that John Tavares is having a great year, so they still got lots of offensive threats."

And every team is forced to deal with injury issues. Vegas is currently without captain Mark Stone. 

"We're down a couple guys too," pointed out defenceman Alex Pietrangelo. "Sometimes things just become more simple ... sometimes things get more direct, a little more straightforward." 

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Domi is mired in a career long 13-game point drought, but he's been soaking up key minutes as a top-six centre with Matthews out.

The Knights left the second-line centre spot vacant on the projected Leafs lineup written on their dressing room whiteboard this morning. 

So, who will move to the middle?

"I was thinking about it," Berube, who retired as a player after the 2003-04 season, said with a smile. "But [Pontus] Holmberg will go in the middle. He's played the middle before."

Holmberg started the year as the third-line centre before shifting to the wing. He has just two assists in 17 games. 

Berube approached Marner about the possibility of playing centre recently and Nylander started training camp as a centre but, for now, the Leafs are keeping the key wingers in their usual spots. 

"You guys love this talk about centres," Nylander said with a grin. "You just play wherever you're going to play. Like, it's no big deal."

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Fraser Minten took Kampf's spot as the third-line centre at Tuesday's practice. 

"There's lots of opportunity in the lineup tonight," the 20-year-old said. "So, I'm looking forward to it."

Minten took reps with the penalty kill at the morning skate. 

Minten unexpectedly made the Leafs out of training camp last year and dressed in four games as the third-line centre before being sent back to the Western Hockey League. 

"A little older, stronger, more mature, I guess, and have a bit of experience under my belt, so I know what to expect," Minten said. "But still green to this league and it's still new to me."

Minten missed all of training camp after sustaining a high-ankle sprain during a rookie tournament game. He had the ankle wrapped when he met with the media on Wednesday. 

Minten is off to a strong start in the American Hockey League where he has two goals and two assists in five games with the Toronto Marlies. 

Berube's message to Minten? 

"Just go out there, have fun, play your game, and be confident in yourself," the Vancouver native revealed. "You know you can make stuff happen, and don't worry about results or anything. Just go out there and compete."

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Minten’s linemate with the Marlies, Nikita Grebenkin, has also been called up and will make his NHL debut on Wednesday. The 21-year-old Russian is still working on his English, but was willing to stand before the Toronto television cameras for the first time this morning. 

"Leafs give me chance," he said. "I go work, help team. It's [about the] win. Not win, I not enjoy. Win today, it's enjoy."

Any nerves? 

"My feel is perfect," he said. "Perfect. Let's go work today."

Grebenkin certainly isn't shy on the ice. He actually dropped the gloves and fought during his first ever NHL pre-season game with the Leafs this fall. 

"He's feisty out there," Nylander noted. "Makes some small, nice plays and, you know, can score some goals. It'll be fun to see him out there tonight."

Grebenkin has four goals and six assists in 13 games with the Marlies. 

Grebenkin says his favourite player is Florida Panthers agitator Matthew Tkachuk. That brought a smile to Berube's face. 

"It's around the net, being strong at the net, the little plays that he makes around the net," Berube said of Tkachuk. "That's why he's such a great player. This kid's got the potential to do that stuff. He's got good hands in tight and he's big and strong and he's got jam."

Alex Steeves, who leads the Marlies with nine goals in 10 games, was called up last week. On Wednesday, he will dress for the second time with the Leafs this season. 

"They're putting some trust in the depth that we have here," Minten said, "and it's up to us to go out there and make the most of it."

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Anthony Stolarz picked up the win on Saturday against the Edmonton Oilers and owns the best save percentage in the NHL at .927, but it will be Joseph Woll who gets the start on Wednesday. 

"It's always a tough decision," Berube said. "We've been in kind of a rotation here and I think it's worked well and we're going to continue to do that."

Stolarz and Woll have rotated the last five games although Woll's two starts came on the second night of a back-to-back set. 

Woll did pick up a win in his previous outing in Washington last Wednesday. He's 3-2-0 with a .902 save percentage since returning from groin tightness. 

Adin Hill will be in net for the Knights. Ex-Leaf Ilya Samsonov will dress as the backup. 

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The Leafs have added a wrinkle to the power play in the last week. Nylander is now staying out with the second unit if the top group doesn't score. 

"With Matthews out, I thought Willy's the type of guy that he could be very effective in that way," Berube said. 

Nylander, who expressed a desire to play more during a media session on Oct. 31, appreciates the opportunity. 

"It's been great," the smooth-skating Swede said. "I think the power play has actually been really good. We just haven't been able to score. So, I think that's been good. But it's nice to get that ice time and get that, you know, extra time out there."

After going public with his playing-time concerns, Nylander is averaging 20 minutes and 16 seconds of ice time in eight games (six goals, four assists), which is up from 17 minutes and 58 seconds in the previous 11 games (six goals, four assists). 

In the last three games, Nylander is averaging more than four minutes of power-play time. The Leafs are 1/10 in those games.  

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Jack Eichel praised Matthews for heading overseas for treatment on his undisclosed injury.

"If Auston felt that going to Germany was his best chance of getting back as soon as possible and feeling as good as possible and helping their team, then I'm sure that's why he's over there," the Knights centre said. "He's a smart guy. He's got a lot of great resources. I'm pretty sure he knows what he's doing. He's a competitor and he wants to be back out here playing and he's going to do whatever he can to try and get back on the ice."    

Eichel isn't sure if he paved the way for other players to take more ownership of their health. He is the first NHLer to undergo artificial disk replacement on his neck. His former team, the Buffalo Sabres, didn't want him to get the surgery, which led to his eventual trade to Vegas. 

"I can't say whether that opened anyone's eyes or influenced other people," Eichel said. "I did what I felt I needed to do."

On Tuesday, general manager Brad Treliving revealed that Matthews travelled to Munich to see a doctor he's used in the past. Leafs medical director and head physician Dr. Noah Forman accompanied Matthews. 

"You have to express what you feel comfortable with and what you feel is the best treatment, whatever that might be," Eichel said. "I feel like guys are more open and, you know what, teams are more open to it too. I think that's an important part as well. I think teams are communicating well with players and giving them the chance to see the people they want to see. It goes both ways. It's good that he's been able to get the treatment he needs or wants." 

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Projected Leafs lineup for Wednesday's game: 

McMann - Tavares - Marner 
Knies - Holmberg - Nylander 
Robertson - Minten - Grebenkin
Dewar - Lorentz - Steeves

McCabe - Tanev
Rielly - Ekman-Larsson 
Benoit - Timmins  

Woll starts 
Stolarz 

Leafs power-play units at Wednesday's skate: 

PP1 

Rielly, Nylander, Tavares, Marner, Knies 

PP2 

Ekman-Larsson, Timmins, Robertson, Grebenkin, McMann