Keefe and Dubas give different answers when asked about the health of Timothy Liljegren; plus Leafs line combos against Canucks
We're inching our way towards puck drop between the Leafs and Canucks in Vancouver on Saturday night, but unfortunately for young blueliner Timothy Liljegren, he'll be watching his second consecutive game from the press box.
On Thursday, Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe scratched Liljegren to get Erik Gustafsson and Luke Schenn into the lineup. He also told the media that Liljegren was fine after a couple of awkward falls and collisions during Wednesday's game in Edmonton, during which he was forced to leave to go through concussion protocol.
Ultimately, Liljegren did finish the game, but did not suit up for the Leafs on Thursday in Calgary. On Friday, however, GM Kyle Dubas told the media that Liljegren was indeed a little banged up, which is contrary to what Sheldon Keefe had reported on Thursday. Well, Liljegren is once again a healthy scratch on Saturday in Vancouver, with the Leafs once again opting to roll 7D and 11F.
Along with Liljegren, Zach Aston-Reese is also a healthy scratch tonight. As far as how the lines will be to start out, Alexander Kerfoot is getting a huge opportunity, starting alongside Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner. The rest of the lineup shapes up like this:
Jarnkrok-Tavares-Nylander
Bunting-O'Reilly-Lafferty
Kampf-Acciari
McCabe-Brodie
Giordano-Holl
Rielly-Schenn
Gustafsson
Murray starts for the first time since mid January.
