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The Toronto Maple Leafs put together a more complete effort in their first victory of the preseason, a 5-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres at the Kraft Hockeyville game in West Lorne, ON on Wednesday, but the positive performances in the game were overshadowed by the loss of defenseman John Klingberg.
The veteran blueliner, who was signed to a one-year, $4.15 million deal in July and was projected to start the season as the quarterback of the Leafs power play, did not return for the second and third periods. Head coach Sheldon Keefe indicated after the game that Klingberg’s absence was precautionary, saying that something tightened up on him early in the game and that there will be a further evaluation to determine the nature and extent of the injury.
This is the second injury to a player projected to be in the club’s regular season lineup. Winger Calle Jarnkrok is dealing with an unspecified injury, has not played in any of the Leafs three preseason games, and is not practicing.
Klingberg’s absence opened the door for Conor Timmins, who scored twice and added a pair of assists. The 25-year-old was impressive at times last season after being acquired from Arizona, putting up 14 points in 25 games before being relegated to depth duty after Luke Schenn, Erik Gustafsson, and Jake McCabe were acquired at the trade deadline.
With the Leafs tight against the cap, there was some speculation that Toronto might try to sneak Timmins through waivers to clear his $1.1 million salary, but based on performances like last night, it is very likely they will lose him if they try that.
The most impressive Leaf forward on the night was rookie Matthew Knies, who played a regular shift with team captain John Tavares and had two assists, setting up Sam Lafferty for a second-period short-handed goal. Max Domi and Kyle Clifford also scored for Toronto, and Martin Jones made 13 saves on the night.
The Leafs also had solid performances from Fraser Minten, Easton Cowan, and Nick Robertson, who had a number of good scoring chances but could not convert.
The Leafs begin a stretch of three games in four days playing the Montreal Canadiens. The two arch-rivals play back-to-back at the Bell Centre on Friday and Saturday and return to Toronto to play at Scotiabank Arena on Monday.
Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • 
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