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TSN Toronto Reporter Mark Masters reports on the Maple Leafs, who practised at Ford Performance Centre on Tuesday ahead of Wednesday’s game against the Buffalo Sabres.

With Jake Muzzin sidelined with a concussion, the Leafs are experimenting with some new looks on defence. At Tuesday's practice, lefty Rasmus Sandin shifted to the right side and joined Morgan Rielly on the top pair.

"It's a huge opportunity for me," the 21-year-old said. "Our games could fit really well. He's a guy I'm looking at and trying to take a lot of stuff from. In that way, we can read off each other very well. We're probably going to know what the other guy will do with the puck and where he's going to go when he doesn't have it. It can be a really good pair."

"We like to use him in offensive situations as we do with Morgan," coach Sheldon Keefe said. "Now you have them both and you can pair them with the [Auston] Matthews line for offensive-zone faceoffs. We are curious to see how that plays out."

Sandin is riding a wave of confidence after potting the game-winning goal against Washington on Monday. It was his first career showdown against the Capitals and Alex Ovechkin. 

"A guy that I've been looking up to since I was young," Sandin said. "That was one of my first jerseys I ever had so it's pretty cool to go against him even though, right before the goal, he cross-checked me over my arm and it stung a bit."

Sandin stands just 5-foot-11, 178 pounds, but doesn't shy away from physical play. 

"I love it," he said. "It's part of the game. I like when it's physical. I'm comfortable playing those games. It's a lot fun." 

Sandin is second among Leafs defenceman in hits this season behind only Muzzin. 

"He uses his body a lot," Rielly observed. "I think that's underrated from him. He's quite physical and he skates well. He's doing a great job this year. He's learning and growing every day." 

Sandin played on the right side at times in the Ontario Hockey League and American Hockey League, but has rarely taken shifts there in the National Hockey League. He did play on his off side alongside Muzzin during a game against Pittsburgh on Feb. 17 with mixed results. Now, Sandin is poised to get another chance on Wednesday against the Sabres. 

This is Sandin's first full season in the NHL and he's getting more comfortable with each new challenge.  

"I feel like I'm taking more space out there," he said. "I'm talking a lot and trying to do stuff with the puck in a different way."

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Rielly had played with another young Swede – righty Timothy Liljegren – in the last two games. Liljegren will be the odd man out against Buffalo.

"Lily has played a lot," Keefe noted. "His last couple of games haven't been his best. He has done a great job of finding consistency in his game that makes you believe in giving him a chance to play up there with Morgan, but we have to continue to use our depth."

Travis Dermott, a lefty, will return to the lineup after being sidelined with a nasty flu bug. He skated alongside Ilya Lyubushkin at practice.

"Somebody who is a lefty had to play the right side," Keefe said. "We wanted to give Sandin a look there ... I wouldn't read a whole lot into it. It is more that we just wanted to give Lily the day off."

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Keefe is hoping a break will help Liljegren in the same way it seems to have boosted Justin Holl. After sitting out two games as a healthy scratch, Holl has racked up one goal and four assists in the last two games. 

"I've been making good plays, but it's probably not sustainable," the 30-year-old said with a laugh. "But the better you play with your process, the more offensive opportunities you get. It's a numbers game. If you're in the offensive zone a lot, you'll get more chances."

Holl and Muzzin formed a steady second pair last season, but have struggled to regain that form this season. With Muzzin out, Holl has generated instant chemistry with new partner T.J. Brodie.

"He's super smart," Holl noted. "He's always in the right spot. He's really good with his quick passes and getting the puck going in the right direction and then you end up spending your shift in the offensive zone rather than battling for it or trying to find your way." 

Holl also appreciates that Brodie has a knack for escaping sticky situations. 

"He's really good with crisis management," the Minnesota native noted. "When you need him to bail you out or make a desperation defensive play, he's always there and really good at it."

"We have liked the way Brodie and Holl is shaping up," Keefe said. "Brodie has a stabilizing presence no matter who he plays with, for sure, but for Justin himself, his touches have been clean. He is playing with confidence offensively. He is defending well. Full marks to Justin on that." 

Holl made a great pass to set up Sandin's goal in Washington. 

"I actually intended on shooting it and as I was winding up, I caught a white jersey out of the corner of my eye and was able to find Sandy backdoor and he buried it nicely," Holl said.

In the dying seconds of the first period, Holl crept towards the Capitals crease and ended up banging home a loose puck. 

"I knew there was not a lot of time left," Holl said. "Mo shot it and when I saw he missed the net I thought it was a good opportunity because I thought it would bounce out the way it did. It worked out perfectly, but definitely not a familiar area."

Holl is now up to two goals and 11 assists on the season.

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Matthews missed Wednesday's practice. Keefe termed it a maintenance day. 

Toronto's top line of Matthews between Mitch Marner and Michael Bunting is absolutely dominating of late. Since Marner returned from the COVID protocol on Jan. 15, he leads the league in scoring with 35 points in 18 games while Matthews is second with 30 points. 

"It's easy to be on the ice with them," said Sandin with a smile. "I just try to, you know, not screw up too bad. So, you try and give them the puck and they'll do their magic. Hopefully I can find some open space and touch the puck once or twice a shift."

Bunting scored again on Monday and now leads all NHL rookies with 19 goals. Despite his advanced age, the 26-year-old is making a compelling case for the Calder Trophy. That has earned him some ribbing from teammates. Sandin joked that Bunting is getting "cocky" when it comes to his Calder candidacy 

But the Scarborough, Ont., native was modest when meeting with the media on Monday. 

"Right now, it's going for me so I can't get too high on the highs," he said. "Just stay even keel and try and keep this thing rolling ... That was a nice play by Mitch to force a turnover and put it in the middle and I was fortunate to be in the right spot at the right time."

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Early in the third period on Monday, Petr Mrazek did the splits to deny an Ovechkin shot. 

"I was cheating a little bit, I felt like, on that shot," Mrazek admitted. "I was a little bit too high. I saw Ovechkin, but thought he was covered and then the puck ends up on his stick so I just tried to slide there as fast as I could."

Mrazek also survived a close call in the first period when Matthews got his stick on a puck that was an inch away from crossing the line. 

"You need, sometimes, bounces like that to win a game," the 30-year-old said. "Great defensive play by Matty."

Mrazek is likely owed some good luck after an injury-plagued start to the season. 

Mrazek stopped 30 of 33 shots on Monday to record his third straight win. 

"I felt good out there," he said. "They put a lot of pucks on the net and a lot of tips in front of the net so you have to be sharp. I saw a lot of pucks on those. The tips you have to be lucky as well to get a piece on. Overall, a good performance."

Keefe agrees and will reward Mrazek with another start on Wednesday. It is the first time this season that Mrazek will make consecutive starts. 

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After missing Monday's game with an undisclosed injury, Ondrej Kase also missed Tuesday's practice and is "unlikely" to play against Buffalo, Keefe said. 

In Kase's absence, Pierre Engvall slotted in on the third line beside Ilya Mikheyev and David Kampf. With that trio on the ice together this season (just over 68 minutes), the Leafs have outshot the opposition 38-18 in five-on-five play, per NaturalStatTrick.com.

"They just seem to complement each other very well," said Keefe. "All three guys skate really well. All three guys have good skill sets individually to hang onto the puck and bring it up the ice. It is three of the best guys we have at transporting the puck from our own zone to the offensive zone. If you put them all on the ice together, you see positive results that way."

Engvall had three shots on net against the Capitals and sealed the win with an empty-net goal. 

"When Pierre is playing higher up in the lineup, he is going to play more and feel more involved and engaged in the game," Keefe noted. "That is part of it. One of the challenges of being down on the fourth line is that you don't get to play as much and you have to find your way within that. It is a little bit easier to find your rhythm when you are in the top nine. I think that has a positive effect on guys. When there is an opportunity that is created — in this case, with Kase being out — Pierre, I think, gets excited by that. There has been a lot of good things that we have seen from that line. They were as good of a line as we had last night for sure."

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Meanwhile, the fourth line of Jason Spezza between Nick Robertson and Wayne Simmonds got off to a rocky start in Washington. 

"That line, especially early in the first period, was spending a lot of time in our own end," Keefe said. "Right away, you are going to lose a little bit of confidence in the group."

As a result of that and a lot of special teams work in the game, Robertson ended up getting just five minutes and 28 seconds of ice time. 

"I am happy with his attitude," Keefe said of the 20-year-old. "I am happy with the game he played in Detroit. That is what made us want to keep him in the lineup again last night. However the minutes shake out, for a young guy like him, it is just about soaking up the whole experience and getting a taste of the NHL again."

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Lines at Tuesday's practice: 

Bunting - Clifford - Marner 
Kerfoot - Tavares - Nylander 
Mikheyev - Kampf - Engvall
Robertson - Spezza - Simmonds 

Rielly - Sandin 
Brodie - Holl
Dermott - Lyubushkin
Liljegren 

Mrazek 
Campbell