The Toronto Maple Leafs went a perfect 5-0 with Morgan Rielly serving his suspension for cross-checking Ottawa Senators forward Ridly Greig in the head. With Rielly out, William Lagesson getting injured and Mark Giordano losing his father unexpectedly, head coach Sheldon Keefe was forced to give more playing time to the likes of Timothy Liljegren, Max Lajoie and rookie Marshall Rifai. All three have played well in Rielly's absence, but Liljegren seems to have found another level to his game.
With Rielly out, Liljegren has seen his ice-time jump from his season average of 19:22 to well over 20 minutes per game. Not only has Liljegren played very well on the top pairing with T.J. Brodie, but he has also filled in for Rielly on the top powerplay unit amassing 7 points in five games and helping the powerplay go 8 for 16. Following the Leafs' 6-3 win over Arizona last night, Liljegren was asked about his recent offensive explosion to which he offered a humorous response.
With Reilly set to return tonight, it will be interesting to see how Keefe shakes up the defensive pairings. Surely, it will lead to difficult decisions with how well the group has played, but it will come as no surprise to see Rifai be replaced by Rielly.
