Leafs forward absent from practice; Keefe adjusts line combinations accordingly
After practicing for the first time since last Saturday following their return from Sweden, the Maple Leafs took to the ice for the second day in a row. Defenseman John Klingberg was unsurprisingly absent from practice as head coach Sheldon Keefe announced he would be unavailable for both of the Leafs games this weekend. He was subsequently placed on LTIR this afternoon.
For the second day in a row, defenseman Conor Timmins skated on the bottom pairing alongside William Lagesson, which is a pretty good indication that he's nearing a return to the lineup. Timmins is yet to be activated off of LTIR following an injury during training camp, but looks to be ready to play for the first time this season Friday in Chicago, though nothing is confirmed yet.
Up front, Keefe had to shuffle his forward lines a little bit as Calle Jarnkrok was absent from practice today. Jarnkrok reportedly took a shot off the leg yesterday which is what forced him to miss practice. The Swedish winger had imaging done on Wednesday and everything came back clean, so at this point, he should be considered day-to-day.
In his absence, the Leafs had Nick Robertson take his spot on the second powerplay unit and Noah Gregor moved up to the third line with Robertson and Max Domi. Ryan Reaves returned to a regular on the fourth line with David Kampf and Bobby McMann. Keefe however, did keep the top two lines together.
If Jarnkrok doesn't play on Friday afternoon, Robertson will have a huge opportunity ahead of him to play some power play shifts. With the shot he possesses, he has a real opportunity to do some damage with the man advantage, even if it may only be 30 seconds at a time, playing second fiddle to the main unit.
| POLL | ||
NOVEMBRE 23 | 298 ANSWERS Leafs forward absent from practice; Keefe adjusts line combinations accordingly If the Leafs trade for Nikita Zadorov, do you think Conor Timmins will be a part of the package headed to Calgary? | ||
| Yes | 153 | 51.3 % |
| No | 145 | 48.7 % |
| List of polls | ||
