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The Toronto Maple Leafs return home for Game 3 of their first-round playoff series against the Boston Bruins. The Maple Leafs rebounded nicely in Game 2 to beat Boston 3-2 after a 5-1 blowout loss in Game 1 on Saturday.
The big question for Toronto is the status of forward William Nylander, who hasn't played in either of the first two games and is considered questionable to play in Game 3.
If Nylander does not return, coach Sheldon Keefe will likely keep the same lineup together, as the forwards would be:
- Tyler Bertuzzi, Auston Matthews and Max Domi
- Matthew Knies, John Tavares and Mitch Marner
- Calle Jarnkrok, Pontus Holmberg and Nick Robertson
- Connor Dewar, David Kampf and Ryan Reaves
On defense, the Maple Leafs will maintain the status quo, with veteran defensemen TJ Brodie and Mark Giordano remaining healthy scratches.
- Morgan Rielly, Ilya Lybushkin
- Simon Benoit, Jake McCabe
- Joel Edmundson and Timothy Liljegren
In net, Ilya Samsonov will remain the starting goalie for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Samsonov has started both games for the Leafs and had a much better Game 2 after struggling in Game 1.
William Nylander's status is still uncertain
The big question for the Toronto Maple Leafs in the playoffs has been the status of William Nylander.
Nylander played all 82 games in the regular season but has missed the first two playoff games for an undisclosed reason. After Game 2, Sheldon Keefe said there was a chance Nylander could be back for Game 3.
“No update (on Nylander),” Keefe told the media. “Not much happening for us here except for getting ready to travel, but he is a possibility for us (for Game 3), I guess is all we would say.”
Nylander participated in line rushes alongside Jarnkrok and Holmberg on the third line during Game 3's morning practice. However, the Swede did stick out for extra work with the healthy scratches, like he did before Game 2, implying he will be out of the lineup in Game 3.
