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The Toronto Maple Leafs practiced in Boston in preparation for Game 1 of their first round series against the Bruins on Saturday night, and the news of the day was the absence of winger William Nylander from practice. The Leafs second leading scorer notably struggled down the stretch, going the last 11 games without a goal and falling short of the 100-point mark with 40 goals and 58 assists.
“(Nylander) and Bobby McMann both stayed off the ice today, both are possibilities for (Saturday). Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said. That's it. (GM Brad Treliving has) made it pretty clear there's not going to be any daily injury updates or anything like that."
In the positive column, both Max Domi and Calle Jarnkrok took part on Friday and look to be ready for Game 1. Domi took his normal spot on the right side with Tyler Bertuzzi and Max Domi, while Jarnkrok played the right side with Nick Robertson and Pontus Holmberg. If Nylander does play, Jarnkrok likely shifts to the left side and Robertson sits. Ilya Samsonov is expected to be the starter on Saturday against Jeremy Swayman of the Bruins.
The Bruins were once again one of the best defensive clubs in the NHL with 221 goals allowed, and a good part of that was the quality and depth of their blueline. Boston has arguably two #1-quality defensemen in Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm, who average over 23 minutes per night and that ice time will likely exceed 25 minutes in the playoffs.
Brandon Carlo led all Bruins skaters with a +23 rating, but their defensive depth is not what it was with veterans Kevin Shattenkirk, Matt Grzelcyk, and deadline addition Andrew Peeke likely making up the rest of their top six, with rookie Mason Lohrei and Derek Forbort (just returning from injury) in reserve.
The Leafs defensive depth was improved dramatically at the deadline with the additions of Joel Edmundson and Ilya Lyubushkin. Lyubushkin provides a physical edge playing alongside Morgan Rielly, while Edmundson is a big body clearing the front of the net on the penalty kill and will partner on the bottom pairing with Timothy Liljegren. Keefe has opted to go with the familiar pairing of Simon Benoit and Jake McCabe and will sit TJ Brodie to start the series, but Brodie may get into the lineup at some point.
Toronto is the deeper of the two defensive corps, but the Bruins have three legitimate top four defenders in McAvoy, Lindholm, and Carlo, while the Leafs have a collection of 4’s, 5’s and 6’s other than Rielly.
Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • 
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