Liljegren returns, Edmundson sits, Murray’s conditioning stint begins tonight: Leafs Practice Notes

This checks out given that Sheldon Keefe commented after yesterday’s practice that Liljegren looked good and would be on track to get into the lineup for tonight’s game. He has been out of the lineup for the past few weeks with an upper-body injury that was not expected to keep him out of the lineup for the remainder of the regular season.

His insertion into the lineup means Joel Edmundson is going to take the night off with what Keefe described as the team being overly cautious about something that popped up. That something is very likely the lingering effects of Edmundson blocking a shot off the skate that stung him up quite a bit, which didn’t prematurely end his night but gave a bit of a scare for sure.

Another player who will be cleared to play tonight is Max Domi who was initially listed as “day-to-day” with an injury suffered during Thursday’s game against the Devils which likely came during his fight with Simon Nemec. He was never fully ruled out for today so it appears that the injury was not severe enough to sit him out.

This means Noah Gregor, who stayed out late for the morning skate, will be a healthy scratch. The only other notable lineup change will be Ryan Reaves slotting back into the lineup on the fourth line. Given the high stakes this game has for the Red Wings, the Leafs are anticipating a playoff-type contest and getting their enforcer back in makes sense.

Matt Murray was sent down to the AHL this morning on an LTIR conditioning stint and is already priming for his first start when the Marlies take on the Syracuse Crunch. It makes sense that they want him to get into games given the last time he played in one was on April 2, 2023 and has yet to make an appearance this season due to a bilateral hip surgery.

The chances he gets into the lineup for one of the last two regular season games are slim but far from impossible. Certainly all depends on how his conditioning stint goes, but he will at the very least be a fourth-string option available for the playoffs should the Leafs run into injury trouble.

If you want to get a read into how Keefe may shake up the lines for Game 1 of the playoffs, he provided some insight at the media scrum by revealing that Domi is very likely to get paired up with Auston Matthews to start. This makes sense because the two have quickly gotten into a groove on the ice and seem to get the best out of each other from an offensive standpoint. Whether that also means Tyler Bertuzzi is on the top line remains to be seen currently, but in any case, it appears Mitch Marner won’t be on the top line to start the postseason.

A report from Joe Smith of The Atheltic said that Cade Webber would be signing a two-year ELC with the Leafs and that the Boston University defenceman was expected to join the team for their season-ending trip in Florida. The signing has yet to be made official due to the team needing to shed some cap space by sending down a player and a decision has yet to be made yet on who that will be. Kudos to Keefe for acknowledging the reports but it sounds like the deal won’t be finalized until Sunday at the earliest.

The Leafs will close out their home schedule for the regular season with a tilt against the Red Wings on Hockey Night in Canada. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. EST.