Down 3-0, Maple Leafs shake up defence pairs at practice
Published
The Toronto Maple Leafs appear set to change up their lines facing elimination for the first time this postseason.
With the team down 3-0 in their second-round series against the Florida Panthers, the Maple Leafs used new combinations at both forward and defence in Tuesday's practice.
The top defence pairing of Morgan Rielly and Luke Scheen remained together, while TJ Brodie skated with Justin Holl, Jake McCabe worked with Timothy Liljegren and Erik Gustafsson and Mark Giordano formed the extra pairing.
Brodie and McCabe have been paired together throughout the Leafs' playoff run, while Holl made his second-round debut in Game 3, logging 19:25 in ice time.
Head coach Sheldon Keefe said after the skate Mark Giordano will serve as the seventh defenceman in Game 4.
The Maple Leafs used 11 forwards and seven defencemen in Monday's Game 3 loss, with Liljegren watching from the press box.
In the forward lines, Calle Jarnkrok skated with Auston Matthew and Mitch Marner Tuesday, while Alex Kerfoot was on the second line with John Tavares and William Nylander. Michael Bunting joined the third line with Ryan O'Reilly and Noel Acciari, while Zach Aston-Reese, David Kampf and Sam Lafferty worked on the fourth line.
Wayne Simmonds, who has yet to dress in the postseason, skated as an extra.
Samsonov out, Woll to start Game 4
Injured starting goalie Ilya Samsonov was not on the practice ice with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday as the team prepares for a must-win Game 4 against the Florida Panthers on Wednesday.
Head coach Sheldon Keefe confirmed after that Samsonov is unavailable for Game 4 and rookie Joseph Woll start.
Samsonov was forced to leave Sunday's Game 3 loss in the second period after Leafs defenceman Luke Schenn crashed into the net while trying to break up a rush by the Panthers. He is considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
Woll replaced Samsonov between the pipes, stopping 18 of 21 shots as the Maple Leafs lost 3-2 in overtime and trail the Panthers 3-0 in the second-round series.
Matt Murray, who hasn't played since April 2 due to a concussion, will serve as Woll's backup Wednesday. He had a 3.01 goals-against average over 29 games with the Maple Leafs during the regular season.