It was a full practice on Tuesday as the Maple Leafs get ready to try to avoid elimination, and the sweep, in Game 4 against Florida.
The biggest news of the day was that Ilya Samsonov, who left Game 3 after he was bowled into, did not take to the ice for Toronto’s practice. Joseph Woll and Matt Murray were the only goaltenders present, according to Sports Illustrated’s David Alter.
Matt Murray and Joseph Woll are the #Leafs goalies on the ice as practice is about to get underway here in Sunrise, FL.
— David Alter (@dalter) May 9, 2023
Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe confirmed after practice on Tuesday that Samsonov will not play in Game 4, giving the opportunity to Joseph Woll to start Game 4 vs. Florida.
Matt Murray will be the backup, in case you were wondering.
Sheldon Keefe says Ilya Samsonov not available tomorrow and is day-to-day. Joseph Woll will start Game 4.@BodogCA @RinkWideTOR
— David Alter (@dalter) May 9, 2023
Keefe, after practice, said Samsonov’s injury is “upper-body” related. The head coach even went as far as saying there was no consideration to start Murray in a game like Wednesday’s, according to Alter.
Heading into yet another big game, there was a lot of fans curious as to whether there’d be lineup changes. And well, there definitely were a few tweaks to Toronto’s lines ahead of a do-or-die Game 4.
Leafs lines at practice
Jarnkrok – Matthews – Marner
Kerfoot – Tavares – Nylander
Bunting – O’Reilly – Acciari
Aston-Reese – Kampf – Lafferty
SimmondsRielly – Schenn
Brodie – Holl
McCabe – Liljegren
Giordano – GustafssonWoll
Murray @TSN_Edge— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) May 9, 2023
The Maple Leafs’ lineup looked a little different heading into Game 4 vs. the Panthers. Alex Kerfoot, notably, is in the top-six while Michael Bunting shifts down to Toronto’s third line with Ryan O’Reilly and Noel Acciairi.
Calle Jarnkrok moves up to the first line, joining Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner — a combo that’s worked wonders in the past. Zach Aston-Reese slots back into the fourth line alongside David Kampf and Sam Lafferty.
On defence, TJ Brodie is paired up with Justin Holl after a difficult game on Sunday night. Jake McCabe skates with Timothy Liljegren, which is a pairing that I didn’t expect to see throughout these playoffs.
Morgan Rielly remains paired with Luke Schenn while Mark Giordano and Erik Gustafsson look as the duo who’ll be scratched on Wednesday night for Game 4.
That might not be the case, though, as both Giordano and Gustafsson take reps on the second power play unit:
Leafs special teams work
PP1
Rielly, Matthews, Marner, O’Reilly, TavaresPP2
Giordano/Gustafsson, Nylander, Jarnkrok, Kerfoot, Bunting @TSN_Edge— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) May 9, 2023
There was no word from Keefe, at least that I saw, on who’d be in and out for Game 4. Those questions will likely be answered at the morning skate or in warm-ups prior to puck dropped.
The Maple Leafs look to avoid elimination with a win on Wednesday night. If they can do that, there’ll be another game inside Scotiabank Arena, which Toronto could very well win. And if that happens, anything is possible.
Puck drop for Game 4, though, will be just after 7 p.m. inside FLA Live Arena in Sunrise. It’ll be a test of whether the Maple Leafs can stay alive or not.
