The Veteran Center was a scratch before, four times in a seven game stretch in April most recently, wherein those seven games he tallied 4 points, with 2 goals and 2 assists, with a total of 12 goals and 13 assists for 25 points, which is under his production for 2020-2021.
He will be centering Pierre Engvall and Colin Blackwell on the 4th line, and Wayne Simmonds will be coming out.
While he understands, it is a necessity it sounds like he's ready to make an impact on the ice tonight:
I imagine centering the young Leaf's players will be enthusiastic about getting to slot in against the Lightning, who has tied the series in 2 very competitive games so far.
In the North Division playoffs last year, Spezza was a reliable contributor:
POLL | ||
6 MAI | 290 ANSWERS Jason Spezza was broken hearted to be scratched for playoff games Should Jason Spezza be in the Leafs lineup? | ||
Yes | 231 | 79.7 % |
No | 59 | 20.3 % |
List of polls |