Toffoli to return; Sutter shares pre-mono evaluation

The All-Star break came at the right time for Tyler Toffoli, who appears to be ready to make his return to the lineup tonight after missing only six games due to mononucleosis. Should he play tonight – and all indications are that he will – his return would come only 19 days after the diagnosis of a virus that generally takes athletes three weeks to a month to recover from.

Toffoli skated opposite Dwight King on Jeff Carter’s line at the morning skate. He has proven to be a bit of a Blackhawk killer in his young career; in 16 regular season and playoff games against Chicago the 22-year-old has recorded seven goals, 13 points and an impressive 57.0% raw Corsi rating (195 CF / 147 CA) against a team with similarly strong possession metrics.

When asked about Toffoli’s progression this season, Darryl Sutter referenced some peaks and valleys while noting “let him take a bit to get up to speed, too.”

Darryl Sutter, on how he’d assess Tyler Toffoli’s performance, pre-mononucleosis:
I think, obviously everybody was aware of his start. I think he had a tougher time probably in the middle of November to the middle of December where the numbers show that. This is his first full year in the NHL, so he still doesn’t have [a lot of experience], and he ran out of gas. A lot of those young guys did. They went a long playoffs, those kids, and probably didn’t have as much training and didn’t put as much work in. When we came back and were excited and had a really good start, those kids, and then they really leveled off. It was right around Christmas before he got going again, when we just got back, and obviously got hurt. Let him take a bit to get up to speed, too. It’s not just easy to put him in because we need him in there, but it’s not like he’s not expecting anything other than work and the structure that he brings, because that’s what he brings is that real solid 200-foot game for you. [Reporter: With mono, people recover in wildly different rates.] I don’t know enough about it other than an enlarged spleen and bloodwork, and when they’re both right, then away you go.

Toffoli hasn’t been activated at this point, though that’s a roster move that would take place later this afternoon. The Kings have a roster spot open and wouldn’t need to make a corresponding move to activate him.

In 41 games this season, Toffoli has 12 goals, 27 points and a team-best plus-16 rating.