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The Toronto Maple Leafs begin their pursuit of playoff success as they take on the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs starting Tuesday at Scotiabank Arena. Game 2 will be on Thursday before moving to Tampa Bay for Game 3 on Saturday and Game 4 on Monday at Amalie Arena.
The series moves back to Toronto (if necessary) with two days off before Game 5 on Thursday, April 27, a potential Game 6 in Tampa Bay on Saturday, April 29, and a series-deciding Game 7 on Monday, May 1.
After taking a look at the club’s goaltending on Saturday going into the series, we will look at an area that has vastly improved since the Leafs and Lightning played 12 months ago, and that is on the blue line.
Bunting letting Samsonov know his services aren’t needed for the game of rebound at the end of practice pic.twitter.com/ZiEQyot1Cu
— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) April 16, 2023
Defensively, Toronto lost Jake Muzzin early in the season and injuries to Morgan Rielly and TJ Brodie forced the Leafs to give more playing time to youngsters Timothy Liljegren, Rasmus Sandin and Conor Timmins, and lean heavily on veterans Mark Giordano and Justin Holl.
The increased responsibilities gave GM Kyle Dubas an idea of what his depth was capable of and what shortcomings they had well in advance of the postseason, and before the deadline he added Jake McCabe in a trade with Chicago, got Erik Gustafsson, and a first-round pick from Washington for Sandin, and acquired former Leaf Luke Schenn from Vancouver for a third-round pick.
Rielly and Brodie struggled after returning from injury but are now up to speed, while McCabe has been steady and physical while logging top-four minutes. Schenn (who led the NHL in hits) has provided the expected size and snarl, while the 39-year-old Giordano has been remarkably consistent. Liljegren made the biggest strides and earned the confidence of head coach Sheldon Keefe, and Holl after playing his best hockey when the Leafs blueline was shorthanded, fell back into old habits and became a liability at times.
At practice on Monday, Rielly was partnered with Schenn, McCabe with Brodie, Giordano with Holl and Liljegren as part of an extra pairing with Gustafsson. In spite of Keefe’s increased confidence in Liljegren, it is not surprising that he would stick with Holl since he is part of the club’s top penalty-killing tandem, but him staying in the lineup will depend on whether he can avoid being a liability five-on-five against the Lightning.