The last piece of the Maple Leafs’ projected opening night defence corps slides into position Thursday night against Detroit.
Granted, Simon Benoit will be on his unfamiliar right side at Scotiabank Arena, but he’s just glad to be back after an early training camp upper-body injury.
After being forced to wear non-contact red jersey through a few practices, the left-shot Benoit lines up with Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
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“I wouldn’t play today if I wasn’t feeling right,” Benoit said about the danger of rushing back. “I’ll get the rust off. There’s no point trying to play a different game, it’s about keeping it simple.”
Benoit has no qualms about being stationed on his “wrong” side, the idea being the left-shot OEL can better make use o