Reaves, McCabe, Ekman-Larsson among those at Leafs' optional skate
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The Toronto Maple Leafs held an optional skate on Friday morning ahead of the start of the Battle of Ontario on Sunday, with a few players expected to make a return to the lineup against the Ottawa Senators in attendance.
Forwards Ryan Reaves, Max Pacioretty and David Kampf were among those in attendance, as well as defencemen Jani Hakanpaa, Jake McCabe and Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
The Maple Leafs are hoping to have both McCabe and Ekman-Larsson, who are nursing injuries suffered late in the year, available for Game 1 against Ottawa.
Both players have been sidelined with upper-body injuries, with McCabe out since April 2 and Ekman-Larsson sustaining his injury against the Tampa Bay Lightning last week.
Kampf is also nursing an injury and hasn't played since April 2.
Leafs head coach Craig Berube told reporters ahead of Thursday's season finale that he expects to have the defencemen and Kampf in the lineup on Sunday, stating that he is "fairly confident" they'll be ready to go.
McCabe, 31, has two goals and 23 points in 66 games this season while leading the team in average ice time at 21:30 per game.
Ekman-Larsson, 33, has four goals and 29 points in 77 games in his first season with the Leafs. He is third among defenceman in average of ice time this season at 21:04, behind Morgan Rielly (21:23) and Rielly.
Kampf has also been out since April 2. He has five goals and 13 points in 59 games this season.
With rosters expanded for the playoffs, Reaves, who was placed on waivers on March 6 and sent down to the AHL's Toronto Marlies a day later, skated with the team and was called up to the Maple Leafs roster.
In 39 games, the 38-year-old registered two assists before being sent down. He tallied one assist in five games for the Maple Leafs in their first-round loss to the Boston Bruins in last year's playoffs.
The Maple Leafs finished the regular season on a five-game winning streak, and won 13 of their final 16 games. Their attention now turns to the Senators - a team the Leafs haven't beaten in their last five tries.
"We know how good of a team they are, we know how hard they play, we know how well-coached they are," defenceman Chris Tanev said after Thursday's game of their playoff opponent.
"They're a very structured team that does all the right things, does the little things to win games, and that's why they've had a successful year."