Leafs icing rare lineup with six lefty defencemen
The Toronto Maple Leafs might be seeing a few more pucks skipping over their sticks when they take to the ice tonight.
Due to a series of injuries, they’ll actually be icing a lineup with six left-handed defencemen when they take to the ice tonight against the Vegas Golden Knights.
With Timothy Liljegren missing Monday’s practice, Toronto officially ruled the 24-year-old defenceman out on Tuesday to finalize the all-lefty lineup.
“He got banged up the other night and left the bench a couple of times in the third period. He wasn’t able to finish the game. He just needs a little more time to settle down,” Keefe told reporters at Monday’s practice.
Of the 11 defencemen Toronto has used this season, just three are right-handed: Liljegren, as well as Connor Timmins and John Klingberg, both of whom are currently sidelined with long-term injuries.
Here’s what Toronto’s all-lefty lineup is set to look like, per TSN’s Mark Masters:
- TJ Brodie – Jake McCabe
- Morgan Rielly – Simon Benoit
- Mark Giordano – William Lagesson
Tuesday’s contest will also be the first home game back in nearly three weeks for Morgan Rielly, who missed two contests earlier this month in Toronto as part of his five-game suspension.
He returned to the lineup on February 22 while in Vegas, with the Leafs going a perfect 7-0 since his suspension was initially handed down by the NHL.
“Morgan came in midstream on the trip, and I thought he had lots of energy, of course, but he also gave the group energy both in what his being back means to the group and also his play on the ice,” Keefe added.
Puck drop for tonight’s game at Scotiabank Arena is set for 7 pm ET, with the game being broadcast on TSN4 locally.
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