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Keefe Keeping Blueline Fresh For Playoffs; Leafs vs. Islanders

March 21, 2023, 4:49 PM ET [470 Comments]
Mike Augello
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One of the luxuries of adding three blueliners at the trade deadline is the ability to be able to give players a day off here or there before the playoffs begin in the middle of April. The Toronto Maple Leafs continue their five-game road swing against the New York Islanders at UBS Arena on Tuesday, and like he did in Ottawa on Saturday, Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe will give a key member of his blueline the night off.

Veteran blueliner TJ Brodie was an extra skater at the morning skate on Tuesday after being slightly dinged blocking a shot in the 5-4 shootout victory over the Ottawa Senators, and will not play against the Isles. Mark Giordano (who missed his first game of the season as a healthy scratch on Saturday) will replace his former Calgary defense partner and play with Justin Holl, while Luke Schenn will sit in favor of Erik Gustafsson.

Keefe will stay with the traditional 12 forward / six defensemen configuration against New York, with Wayne Simmonds sitting and rookie Bobby McMann playing on the third line with Sam Lafferty and William Nylander.



After not backing up Murray in Ottawa dealing with a nagging injury, Ilya Samsonov will get the start on Tuesday, but that could change if his wife is ready to give birth to their first child. The Leafs have prepared for that eventuality and have Joseph Woll on standby.

Noel Acciari resumed his spot on the fourth line with Zach Aston-Reese and David Kampf on Monday and is expected to make his return to the lineup after missing one game following a collision with Canes forward Jesse Puljujarvi.

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Toronto maintains their three-point lead over Tampa Bay in the race for home-ice advantage, and currently have two games in hand over the Lightning after their 5-2 loss to the Devils at Amalie Arena on Sunday. Tampa also begins a long road trip on Tuesday in Montreal and will face Ottawa, Boston, and Carolina over the next seven days, while the Leafs take on red-hot Florida on Thursday and back-to-back contests with Carolina and Nashville on the weekend.

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