TORONTO — Morgan Rielly's incoming suspension, combined with a number of illnesses and injuries, will test the depth of the dangerously top-heavy Toronto Maple Leafs this week.
As the club braces Tuesday for what could be a ban of five games or longer to its No. 1 defenceman, coach Sheldon Keefe revealed that a couple more players will be out of the lineup for a while.
Defenceman Conor Timmins is out indefinitely after being diagnosed with mononucleosis Monday.
Goaltender Martin Jones is now listed as day-to-day due to an undisclosed injury that "popped up" Monday afternoon.
And another unnamed skater will be a game-time decision for Tuesday's home game against the red-hot St. Louis Blues, potentially opening a lineup spot for either forward Bobby McMann or defenceman Max Lajoie. Both cut their optional morning skates short to be ready.
With Jones sidelined and Joseph Woll (high-ankle sprain) still recovering, prospect Dennis Hildeby, 22, will be called up on an emergency basis to back up starter Ilya Samsonov.
Toss in the hand injury to valued two-way forward Calle Järnkrok, and the Leafs' roster on Tuesday will have five or six players who didn't make the squad out of training camp.
"It gets the team's attention. You can galvanize or rally around that. In my time here, the team has done that quite well," Keefe siad, noting Toronto's 12-2-1 run when Rielly got injured last season.
"We put together one of our best stretches of the season at a time when it could've gone real bad.
"Rally around it and be better."
Easy to say.
Difficult to execute, particularly when you factor in that the returning David Kämpf hasn't played in 17 days while recovering from an undisclosed injury. And veteran Mark Giordano will play on a foot sore enough that he skipped Tuesday's morning skate — a rarity for the rink rat.
(Keefe notes that Giordano feels better when he's in a skate than not.)
And neither half of the club's emergency top pairing of T.J. Brodie and Timothy Liljegren has found his stride this season. Yet.
"We got to all know it's not going to be one guy stepping up and playing Mo's role," Giordano said. "It's going to be all of us chipping in here and there throughout the game."
Dressing a depleted lineup this week, the Maple Leafs have a chance to elevate, to gain confidence, to rise to the occasion.
For the alternative isn't pretty.
"We've got to be on our game away from the puck and making smart decisions. Even myself, the other game, there's a time for offence and a time for defence," Nick Robertson said.
"We gotta make those decisions out there, and we got to make them soon — because we want to start piling on these wins and not being a wild-card spot. We want to get that playoff spot as soon as possible."
One-Timers: The wild-card-hunting Blues carry a five-game road win streak into Toronto. St. Louis has won seven of its past eight and playing its best hockey of the season... Keefe contemplated going with a five-forward power-play setup Tuesday and debated using righty Timothy Liljegren at the point. Concerned about the Blues' PK counterattack, the coach has instead opted for lefty Jake McCabe, who takes Rielly's spot up top... Rielly planned to attend his hearing in-person but, due to a snowstorm in New York City, the process will take place over Zoom.
Maple Leafs projected lines vs. St. Louis Blues Tuesday
Knies – Matthews – Marner
Bertuzzi – Tavares – Nylander
Gregor – Domi – Robertson
Hölmberg – Kämpf – Reaves
Brodie – Liljegren
Benoit – McCabe
Giordano – Lagesson
Samsonov starts
Hildeby
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