Toronto head coach Craig Berube confirmed Carlo will be back in the lineup Tuesday night. It is his first game since November 13, ending a long absence that has tested Toronto's depth.

Brandon Carlo will return to the Maple Leafs lineup tonight, Craig Berube announced.

Carlo last played on November 13.

Carlo's return lands at the perfect time for Toronto because the Leafs have been living on patchwork minutes.

The Leafs have still managed to hang around the Atlantic race at 19-15-7, but the blue line has looked stretched. When a 6-foot-5 right shot disappears, your exits get messier and your penalty kill takes on water.

Carlo is 29 now, and his value is the boring stuff that wins games, net-front box-outs, first-touch clears, and killing plays before they start. He is not flashy, but coaches love him because he makes shifts shorter.

Brandon Carlo return boosts Toronto Maple Leafs

As a Bruins fan, I hate admitting it, but Carlo is the exact stabilizer Toronto has been missing.

This is the same defender Boston drafted 37th overall in 2015, then traded away in that painful March deal that brought Fraser Minten to Boston. When Carlo is on, he turns chaos into routine, and rivals feel it.

The injury story was also strange, because reports say it started after he blocked a shot on November 13 and later required surgery. Carlo told Yahoo it turned into a “weird situation,” which is about as much detail as anyone needed to hear.

Toronto gets a cleaner right-side look immediately, especially on the penalty kill where Carlo can hold the front and let everyone else pressure higher. Even if the timing is rusty early, his reach and reads travel.