Gardiner (back) played 16:51 Thursday in a 3-1 loss to the Lightning in his return from injury.

EDGE Analysis

Gardiner's confidence grew as the game wore on. His timing was a bit off, but thankfully he has another game to settle things before the playoffs begin. Gardiner played 1:32 on the power play and while he didn't pick up a point, he blocked one shot and laid one hit. The Leafs are considerably better with him in the lineup and his absence may have actually increased his offseason free agent value. For now, Gardiner will play Saturday to get his timing better and then work to atone for a bad Game 7 against the Bruins in last year's playoffs.