It was a double dose of bad news for the Toronto Maple Leafs in Calgary Monday night. Their 5-2 loss to the Flames snapped a four-game win streak. But even worse, key top-six forward Kirill Marchenko went down with an awkward-looking knee injury. It happened early in the second period with the Leafs down 3-0.

Marchenko grabbed his left knee after it folded awkwardly underneath him. He hobbled off the ice, though he tried to give it another go later on another shift. That lasted less than 15 seconds. From there, he was headed straight to the locker room, done for the night.

One sports doctor, Dr. Harjas Grewal, posted his observation from afar, suggesting that it’s likely an MCL injury for Marchenko. But he added that it looked less severe than most, so he wouldn’t be surprised if it’s as little as a day-to-day thing, or maybe up to a two-to-three-week timeline, instead of the usual four-to-six weeks for an MCL sprain.

Another sports injury doctor, Darren McConaghy, also speculated on an MCL sprain, but said it was encouraging that Marchenko was able to return for another shift (albeit a very short one).

Head coach Jim Hiller was seemingly about to say after the game that he didn’t think it was too serious, but stopped short in his tracks, with the following:

“I don’t have the full update, but I don’t think——You know, he couldn’t come back and finish the game, so that’s never a good sign.”

With John Tavares also still out for a while, the Leafs will be down two top-six forwards for a bit of time. Does that mean that Gavin McKenna will finally get his shot to play on a line with some talented players?

Marchenko was off to a terrific start with the Buds after the blockbuster trade on the eve of the regular season. He has six goals and 14 points in 14 games, playing 17:37 of average ice time per night.