Leafs' lineup undergoes massive transformation at Monday's practice
After a few games out West, the Leafs are officially back in the Eastern Time zone, practicing in New Jersey on Monday. Unfortunately, not all of the usual bodies are present and accounted for, as Ryan O'Reilly was absent from practice on Monday after suffering an apparent hand/finger injury on Saturday in Vancouver.
While most of us saw the O'Reilly absence coming, one thing we didn't anticipate was the potential for John Tavares to be coming out of the lineup as well. I think if anything, we may have anticipated an Auston Matthews absence before a Tavares absence, after Matthews took a hard shot off the inside of his right knee, which buckled him and kept him down on the ice for several minutes before he went on to miss the remainder of the first period and a portion of the second period in Vancouver as well. However, Matthews was slotted in his usual spot on the top line.
Without Tavares and O'Reilly, Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe was forced to make some very difficult decisions and put the lines in a blender to come up with what he thinks is the lineup that gives the Leafs the best chance to win in New Jersey on Tuesday. Here's what he came up with.
Along with the absences of O'Reilly and Tavares, Luke Schenn was also absent from practice. In fact, he's not currently with the team at all. He remained back in Vancouver so that he could be present with his wife for the birth of their next baby, which is expected to come at any time now.
With Schenn out, Timothy Liljegren draws back in after missing two games. Not only is Liljegren drawing back in, but he's jumping straight into another opportunity to play beside Morgan Rielly in the Leafs' top pair. Erik Gustafsson skated on the team's 4th pair, as it looks like the Leafs are abandoning the 11F/7D split and going back to a conventional 12F/6D setup.
The Leafs are 6-4-0 over their last 10 games, which is still a winning record, but with multiple absences of key players overlapping here, things could come off the rails in a real hurry if the stars who remain in the lineup aren't committed to playing hard and taking over games. Hopefully these guys are prepared to find the next gear and finish strong, because the playoffs are just around the corner.
