John Tavares returning Tuesday night to spark Maple Leafs

The Toronto Maple Leafs stayed afloat without him, but they will surely welcome John Tavares back with open arms Tuesday night against the Los Angeles Kings.

Toronto Maple Leafs’ center John Tavares has been out of the lineup since suffering a broken finger when a shot from teammate Morgan Rielly hit his hand against the Washington Capitals on Oct. 16. But he returned to practice last week, and made further progress on Monday with his eye on returning Tuesday night.

According to Kristen Shilton of TSN, the Maple Leafs’ captain and top-line pivot will indeed return to the lineup against the Los Angeles Kings.

Tavares had seven points (three goals and four assists) in eight games before his injury. The Maple Leafs managed just fine in his absence, going 3-2-2, as they sit with a 7-5-3 overall record this season (17 points; fourth in the Atlantic Division).

In those seven games without Tavares, the Maple Leafs averaged 3.14 goals per game, compared to 3.53 goals per game for the season as a whole (3.87 goals per game in the eight games with Tavares). But the Toronto power play notably (and predictably?) suffered without Tavares, going 2-for-22 (9.1 percent) over the last seven games. In the eight games Tavares has played, the power play converted at a 26.9 percent rate (7-for-26).

Jason Spezza had two points last Saturday night against Philadelphia, but he will leave the lineup to make room for Tavares.

Last year, in the first year of the seven-year, $77 million deal he signed with the Maple Leafs, Tavares led the team in goals (47) and finished second on the team in points (88; to Mitch Marner‘s 94). His return the lineup should provide a big spark for a team that has been pretty middling so far this season, and notably boost a power play that needs one of its driving forces back pretty desperately.