Keefe shuffles defensive pairings at Wednesday's practice; a surprise demotion among them
Following a 2-1 shootout loss to Colorado last night, the Leafs were back on the ice today for practice without Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, who were given the day off after both played over 26 minutes last night. Marner, in fact, played almost 30. Other than that, everyone else was at practice, including Luke Schenn who arrived this week from Vancouver following the birth of his daughter.
With only three lines of forwards available for practice, Sheldon Keefe focused on shuffling up his blueline instead. Morgan Rielly and T.J. Brodie remained together, as did Mark Giordano and Timothy Liljegren. The only change Keefe made to the pairings was a pretty substantial one. Schenn paired up with Jake McCabe while Justin Holl found himself on the fourth pairing with Erik Gustafson.
Whether Holl or Gustafson is the seventh defenseman tomorrow night remains to be seen, as is who will come out of the lineup on Saturday as Keefe confirmed following practice that he would go with the 11 forward, seven defenseman lineup once again tomorrow versus Carolina. He also noted that he would revert to a more traditional 12 and 6 lineup Saturday in Ottawa which now raises speculation that Holl could find himself in the press box for that game, since he was skating on the fourth pairing in today's practice.
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