Nick Kypreos brushes aside Toronto Maple Leafs' playoff success chances with injury to Chris Tanev

Nick Kypreos does not believe the Toronto Maple Leafs can succeed in the playoffs if Chris Tanev remains injured. Speaking on Real Kyper & Bourne by Sportsnet 590 The FAN on Tuesday, Kypreos and others discussed Tanev’s uncertain status.

Tanev was expected to return against Colorado last Saturday but he remains out.

"You’ve got to start seeing signs of this blue line getting better quickly here. We're not even sure what's going on with Tanev... (He is) questionable for Thursday against Florida. And it’s not going well," Kypreos said.

"You're now under 20 games left in the season, and your best and most reliable defenseman has a questionable injury. Yeah, that’s not a good sign for a team that’s thinking it’s going to win the division and go deep in the playoffs right now."

Tanev has been a key part of the Toronto Maple Leafs’ defense this season, recording two goals and 15 assists in 57 games with a plus rating of 26. His absence has hurt the Leafs who lost three straight before Monday's win, allowing 14 goals in those games.

Leafs coach Craig Berube gave an update on Sunday.

"He's going through practice, and he's not where he wants to be. We gotta be careful with this situation. It's unfortunate because we do miss him..." Berube said.

The Toronto Maple Leafs added defenseman Brandon Carlo at the trade deadline. He led the team in ice time and penalty-kill minutes against Colorado.

Still, Kypreos believes Tanev’s return is crucial.

"We're talking now middle of March, and we're five weeks out from the first round...," Kypreos said. "So again, I don’t envision a world right now of any playoff success without Tanev."

Toronto Maple Leafs allowed Utah to erase their three-goal early lead

On Monday, the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Utah Hockey Club in a shootout. William Nylander, Calle Jarnkrok and Simon Benoit gave Toronto a 3-0 lead. However, they lost their lead before the end of the second period.

Toronto coach Craig Berube expressed his disappointment with the Leafs' second-period play.

"We got off to a great start," Berube said. "Our first period was really good. [We] made a couple of mistakes in the second… Right now, we're fighting through some adversity and the guys came through in the third, did a good job and ended up winning the shootout."

Utah responded with three goals in just 3:57, courtesy of Michael Carcone, Nick Schmaltz and Barrett Hayton. The third period was quiet, but Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner scored in the shootout to secure the win.