Maple Leafs' Marner, Sandin return vs. Senators

Toronto Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner and defenseman Rasmus Sandin returned to the team's lineup Saturday against the Ottawa Senators.

Marner hadn't played since Dec. 1 due to a shoulder injury he suffered after colliding with teammate Jake Muzzin in practice. Heading into Saturday's game, the winger ranked fifth on the team with 21 points in 24 outings.

Sandin was injured during a Dec. 5 game against the Winnipeg Jets when he was on the wrong end of a knee-on-knee hit from Neal Pionk, who was suspended two games for the play. Entering play, the 21-year-old Swede registered eight assists in 25 games this season while averaging 16:15 per contest, and he led all qualified NHL defensemen with a 62.5% expected goals share, per Natural Stat Trick.

Here's how the Leafs lined up in practice on Friday:

Muzzin, Morgan Rielly, and William Nylander were listed as questionable for Saturday after being removed from COVID-19 protocol. Muzzin ultimately didn't take warmups and was ruled out of the contest, while Rielly and Nylander cracked the lineup.

The forward and the latter blue-liner didn't miss any games while they were in protocol because all of Toronto's matchups were postponed during that span.