Hours after defenceman Chris Tanev was placed on injured reserve with an upper-body injury, fellow blue-liner Morgan Rielly missed practice.
Rielly’s status for Friday’s game against the Buffalo Sabres is now in jeopardy, head coach Craig Berube said.
“He’s dealing with something … I don’t know yet for tomorrow (whether Rielly plays),” Berube said, per Terry Koshan of Postmedia.
Rielly, 31, has enjoyed a strong start to the season with two goals and four assists through seven games.
In his absence at practice on Thursday, Oliver Ekman-Larsson stepped into quarterback duties on the top power-play unit.
Dakota Mermis, who was called up from the AHL to replace Tanev, skated on a pair with Ekman-Larsson, while Jake McCabe and Brandon Carlo formed the top duo, with Simon Benoit and Philippe Myers rounding out the blue line.
The Maple Leafs play a home-and-home set against the Sabres on Friday and Saturday, with the latter back in Toronto.