Maple Leafs' Jake Gardiner: Waiting for coach's word on return

Gardiner (back) is awaiting official clearance to return Wednesday against the Capitals, Terry Koshan of The Toronto Sun reports.

While Mark Masters of TSN.ca seems confident that Gardiner will return based on the defenseman showing up for morning skate alongside Nikita Zaitsev, it would be in the best interest of fantasy owners to track Gardiner's status all the way through pregame warmups. Should he sit out for a second straight game, Martin Marincin reportedly would be the favorite to continue replacing him.