Timothy Liljegren in a battle to make Maple Leafs' playoff lineup

MONTREAL — What has been bubbling beneath the surface for years now finally feels like it is coming to a head.

The Toronto Maple Leafs must decide if Timothy Liljegren is part of the plan — this spring and next fall.

So, even after a shaky third-period sequence in Saturday's skin-of-their-teeth 3-2 victory over the rebuilding Montreal Canadiens, the organization is granting their homegrown right-shot defenceman some space to make his case.

Leading 2-1 at Bell Centre over a Habs group that has given them fits in this building, a sloppy D-zone play by Liljegren prolonged Montreal's possession, and he ended up taking a holding penalty behind the net on Jake Evans.

Alex Newhook snapped a game-tying goal on the ensuing power-play that threatened to make Liljegren a bigger story on this night.

Captain John Tavares's drive-the-crease 20th slapped some positive punctuation on an up-and-down game — heck, up-and-down week — for Leafland, yet Liljegren's individual path and the internal competition brewing on the blueline remains an intriguing storyline.

"I thought the sequence that led to his penalty was a tough moment in the game for him and for our team. Those are the kinds of things we got to keep working with him to eliminate from his game," said coach Sheldon Keefe, choosing a tone of encouragement.

"This is a key time for Lily, right? If you go back the last two years, each time at the trade deadline we've added — and it's essentially pushed him out of the lineup, which I thought has affected his growth and his confidence.

"At times, he's taken a step back. And I think part of that, really, is the trade deadline kind of hanging over his head a little bit."

After watching friend and countryman Rasmus Sandin get dealt at last year's deadline before securing a long-term deal in Toronto, it would be understandable if Liljegren wondered about his own future with the organization that drafted him 17th overall in 2017.

Every spring, the Maple Leafs routinely recruit more experienced defencemen that nudge their homegrown talent down the depth chart and, come playoff time, often up to the press box.

Liljegren is in his fifth regular-season with the big club but has appeared in just seven Leafs playoff games (with zero points).

With new recruits Ilya Lyubushkin and Cup winner Joel Edmundson in the room to eat pucks and minutes, Liljegren finds himself in a lineup battle with Simon Benoit and, when healthy, Mark Giordano.

With seven or eight NHL-level options on their deepened blueline, the Maple Leafs need to decide down the stretch if Liljegren is worthy of their top six for Game 1.

Later, when the arbitration-eligible RFA comes knocking for a raise on July 1, as his $1.4-million AAV bridge deal expires, management must decide how much more to invest in a player who has shown more hope and promise than clutch highlights and consistency.

That's why Keefe gave Liljegren the nod Saturday and sat the team's hit leader and resident Quebecer Simon Benoit.

"We feel like we need Liljegren's right shot. We wanted to get Liljegren with Edmundson. See how that can come together for us," Keefe explained. 

"This is an important time in Liljegren's development here for us. Now we're through the trade deadline. We know what our group looks like, and it'll give Lily a chance to grow within the role and with Edmundson."

Liljegren's look comes at the expense of fan favourite Benoit, who has been tilting the ice and whose confidence has swelled in lockstep with his ice time.

"Quite frankly, it kills me to have to sit Benoit here tonight, especially in this building," Keefe admitted. "But I didn't make the schedule, and it's what's necessary for our team."

Liljegren skated 19:25 with his new partner, but that duo was under water most of the game; the 24-year-old finished with 32 per cent expected goals.

Thing is, Liljegren has had stretches of effective hockey, despite battling back from an early-season high-ankle sprain; when Morgan Rielly got suspended in February, he stepped up on the power-play and racked up seven assists over a four-game rip.

"Lily has taken a step through this season and, at times, has played really well," Keefe said.

"When [GM Brad Treliving] built the team, this was the six guys. And while we love the depth that Benoit was brought to us and his ability to come in, Lily playing tonight was important. It's important for us to continue to work with him."

Just as it will be important for Benoit (an RFA himself) and proud veteran Giordano (in his final season?) to make their own pitch for playoffs.

Let the internal battle begin.

Fox's Fast Five

• The maiden voyage of Toronto's Mitch Marner–less first line of Tyler Bertuzzi, Auston Matthews, and William Nylander was, in a word, yikes.

They were each a minus-1 and easily the Leafs' three worst forwards by expected goals, all registering below 27.4 per cent.

"They weren't very good," Keefe said, dismissing the idea of a chemistry challenge. 

"They just individually weren't very good. It's a night where the group picked them up, so that's good."

• Like many of us, Nick Suzuki was glued to the TV as trade deadline unfolded Friday and took notice of the Golden Knights' surprise acquisition of Tomas Hertl.

"Kelly (McCrimmon) and George (McPhee) aren't scared to do really anything: trading their first-round picks, prospects, future picks, anything," says Suzuki of his former team.

Vegas's 13th-overall pick in 2017 was shipped to Montreal for immediate help in the form of Max Pacioretty in September 2018, before he could play a single game for the club that drafted him.

"Seems like they're always pretty focused on that year and what they can do to make your team better for that year and see what happens after."

• Toronto's top prospect, the untouchable Easton Cowan, extended his OHL point streak to a silly 32 games with a two-assist performance for the London Knights Saturday.

• Back in the lineup after Thursday's concerning hit to the head, Matthew Knies says he didn't see Brad Marchand coming because Charlie Coyle was blocking his view.

"I couldn't really brace for the impact. It was too quick and just got me weird. So, it just didn't feel right," explains Knies, who sat the remainder of the game as a precaution. "I gotta take care of my head."

Knies watched a replay of the collision a few times but not to detect ill intent on Marchand's part. 

"I really watched it for more of how I got into that scenario. You know, what led to it and just where he got me," he says.

• Max Domi loves the United Center in Chicago, but he assures that Bell Centre is favourite barn in the league. First win for the Maple Leafs in this town since Game 4 of 2021 series.

"I think everyone loves coming to Montreal. They were just so good to me, the whole organization. I mean, the fan base, the city are so awesome," Domi says.

"I love every second of it and just a special place to play. I mean, there's nothing like playing here on a Saturday night. It's pretty spectacular."