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The Toronto Maple Leafs played an excellent game against a top Eastern Conference for in a 4-3 shootout victory over the New York Rangers on Saturday, and were fortunate to dodge an injury bullet in the contest. The Leafs were forced to play most of the game without newly reacquired defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin, who absorbed a heavy hit from rambunctious behemoth Matt Rempe in the first period.

Lyubushkin was in concussion protocol after the hit (Rempe was not given a charging call or has not received an invitation by the NHL’s Department of Player Safety), but the blueliner was on the ice for the morning skate on Monday prior to the Leafs matchup against the Boston Bruins.

Good news for the Leafs as Ilya Lyubushkin is on the ice for the morning skate

Left Saturday’s game with a head injury @TSN_Edge pic.twitter.com/8MGScJtTfj

— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) March 4, 2024

"He was feeling good after the game the other night, feeling good again yesterday and feeling good again today, all the protocols he was unable to get through on Saturday, he was able to get through yesterday and today as well. If he continues to respond well after (the morning skate), then he'll be gonna be good to go." Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said. "It turned out that a lot of the discomfort he was feeling was coming from sort of neck and shoulder issues that were causing some discomfort in the head, but that seemed to settle down."

The games this week (with a contest against Buffalo in between) represent an opportunity for the Leafs to close the gap in the race for second place in the Atlantic Division. The Bruins are currently six points ahead of Toronto, but the Leafs have two games in hand.

Joseph Woll gets the start against the Bruins, but that he and Ilya Samsonov would be sharing the heavy workload of four games in six days this week.

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Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman in his trade deadline preview blog indicated that the Leafs are looking at nearly every defenseman not nailed down, but their hope of finding a long-term solution before Friday’s 3 pm deadline are slim. GM Brad Treliving reportedly has also looked at a depth forward/center.

In the depth forward category, someone like Buffalo’s Eric Robinson could be a possible option. The Leafs scouted the Sabres extensively the last few weeks, and Robinson would be a low-cost add that could help Toronto’s penalty killing.


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