TORONTO -- John Klingberg is expected to be ready for the Toronto Maple Leafs season opener against the Montreal Canadiens at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday (7 p.m. ET, TVAS, SN) following his first full practice in more than a week Friday because of an upper-body injury.
The 31-year-old defenseman had not practiced since aggravating the injury in a 5-2 win against the Buffalo Sabres at Kraft Hockeyville in West Lorne, Ontario, on Sept. 27, and will not play in Toronto's preseason finale at the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday.
“He looked great,” Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said. “He’s got full-court press going on to play tomorrow, but I don’t think the medical department is going to agree with him, so he won’t play tomorrow, but all signs point towards him being available for full-go next week.”
Klingberg said the initial injury occurred during a 4-3 preseason overtime loss to the Ottawa Senators on Sept. 25 and that he tweaked the injury in the following game against the Sabres, leading to his week-long absence from on-ice activity. He did take part in Toronto's morning skate Thursday prior to their 4-3 win against the Detroit Red Wings.
“I understand both sides of it,” Klingberg said. “Myself thinking playing tomorrow wouldn’t be a problem, but it would also be stupid to do something that makes me lose even more time. I’m going to listen to the doctors, I think they’re smart enough to know.”
Klingberg, who signed a one-year, $4.15 million contract with the Maple Leafs on July 1, was paired with Jake McCabe during practice.
“I’ve been feeling pretty good here the last few days,” Klingberg said. “Taking a couple more days won’t hurt anything for the better, but obviously if it was a regular-season game, I’d probably try to play tomorrow.”
Goalie Ilya Samsonov departed midway through practice after taking a shot to the midsection from forward Calle Jarnkrok. Samsonov immediately reacted with discomfort. After being assessed briefly on the bench, he left for the dressing room under his own power.
But Keefe said there is no concern about the goalie's status.
"He’s fine,” the coach said.
Klingberg also said Samsonov, who allowed three goals on 23 shots against the Red Wings on Thursday, appeared to be OK.
“It’s never fun to see,” Klingberg said. “I’m not sure where the puck hit him, but I saw him in the room now and it looks like he’s doing pretty good. I didn’t talk a lot with him, but I saw him walk around with a smile on his face.”
