To celebrate defeating the unbeatable Devils, the Leafs are actively choosing to go into Minnesota with a less offensive driven lineup than the one that only scored two goals. I mean, far from me to criticize the 5th best team in the NHL at the moment, but that&#8217;s exactly what we&#8217;re going to do with our first note from practice.
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Nick Robertson in a grey scratches sweater ahead of Leafs practice … so Denis Malgin remains in grey as well 
Wayne Simmonds in a regular sweater … he last played on Nov 5<a href="https://twitter.com/TSN_Edge?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TSN_Edge</a>
&mdash; Mark Masters (@markhmasters) <a href="https://twitter.com/markhmasters/status/1595852066437709826?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 24, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Robertson was given 10:22 of ice time against the Devils, and that resulted in zero points, zero shots on goals, and one hit. Not the most compelling case for keeping Robertson in the lineup, but there is understandably a bigger payoff from keeping Robertson in the lineup over Simmonds. Or at least you could make a case for going back to Malgin.
Simmonds has played just four games this season, and it feels like he&#8217;s coming in specifically because of the Minnesota Wild&#8217;s acquisition of Ryan Reaves and the fact that he&#8217;ll be looking to make a case for helping out his new team.
As much as I&#8217;d like to see either Robertson or Malgin over Simmonds, it&#8217;s been a while since Simmonds has played and if you are going to play him, it is in these situations and perhaps it showcases Simmonds to interested team that will acquire him and play him.
It&#8217;s also important to note that Simmonds not being sent down means the Leafs have 14 forwards on their roster, and 8 defensemen. With Jordie Benn not in practice, it&#8217;s safe to assume he&#8217;s out for Minnesota.
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Practice is underway. Jordie Benn not present. Left the game in the third period yesterday with an upper-body injury. An update to come.
&mdash; David Alter (@dalter) <a href="https://twitter.com/dalter/status/1595854470067388422?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 24, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Conor Timmins. No. 25 on your programme. <a href="https://t.co/PqZlj6uAtR">pic.twitter.com/PqZlj6uAtR</a>
&mdash; David Alter (@dalter) <a href="https://twitter.com/dalter/status/1595853508670259201?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 24, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Timmins is fresh off his conditioning stint with the Roadrunners and would require waivers to be sent down to the AHL. While Timmins would certainly be a helpful option for the Leafs, the lack of hockey he&#8217;s played and being on the ice with the Leafs for the first time probably means that he doesn&#8217;t find himself into the lineup, and Victor Mete will be replacing Jordie Benn. That&#8217;s certainly unfortunate.
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Ilya Samsonov taking part in Leafs practice 
Matt Murray left after goalie work as he’s done in the past (likely load management) 
Leafs have games Friday, Saturday, Monday and Wednesday <a href="https://twitter.com/TSN_Edge?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TSN_Edge</a>
&mdash; Mark Masters (@markhmasters) <a href="https://twitter.com/markhmasters/status/1595854521544179712?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 24, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Matt Murray starts Friday in Minnesota, Sheldon Keefe says 
The plan is for Erik Kallgren to start in Pittsburgh on Saturday, but that’s not 100% yet 
With a matinee start tomorrow, it’s not the usual back-to-back, but the travel is significant <a href="https://twitter.com/TSN_Edge?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TSN_Edge</a>
&mdash; Mark Masters (@markhmasters) <a href="https://twitter.com/markhmasters/status/1595872711686983680?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 24, 2022</a></blockquote>
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The Leafs have been insistent that Samsonov won&#8217;t be playing on the road trip, but getting him back into regular practice work is a good sign. I would have figured that Murray would have been the starter against the Penguins on Saturday rather than the Friday night game against the  Wild, but it sounds like he could get both. That seems like the opposite of load management when it comes to Murray.
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<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Leafs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Leafs</a> lines at practice Nov. 24/22
Bunting-Matthews-Nylander Jarnkrok-Tavares-Marner Kerfoot-Holmberg-Simmonds AstonReese-Kampf-Engvall Extra: Robertson, Malgin
Giordano-Holl Sandin-Liljegren Mete-Hollowell Timmins<a href="https://twitter.com/BodogCA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BodogCA</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/RinkWideTOR?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RinkWideTOR</a>
&mdash; David Alter (@dalter) <a href="https://twitter.com/dalter/status/1595857306385846277?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 24, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Some mild praise for the lines that are largely going to be criticized for the addition of Wayne Simmonds. Calle Jarnkrok on the 2nd line is something I&#8217;ve wanted to see and if Nick Robertson sitting is what has led to that, it&#8217;s doable for a game.
Holmberg seems to be getting an increasingly tougher hand from Keefe, and wonder if he&#8217;s testing him on purpose, to see how capable he is of driving his line.
The Mete-Hollowell third pairing is scary and pretty much requires every other defenseman pushing a 20+ minute workload, and some help will probably be required from Marner as well.
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Sheldon Keefe says Jordie Benn is week-to-week 
They want to give Conor Timmins some time to get settled … he won’t play tomorrow 
Victor Mete was paired with Mac Hollowell today <a href="https://twitter.com/TSN_Edge?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TSN_Edge</a>
&mdash; Mark Masters (@markhmasters) <a href="https://twitter.com/markhmasters/status/1595871876919820288?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 24, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Sigh. Week to week.

To celebrate defeating the unbeatable Devils, the Leafs are actively choosing to go into Minnesota with a less offensive driven lineup than the one that only scored two goals. I mean, far from me to criticize the 5th best team in the NHL at the moment, but that's exactly what we're going to do with our first note from practice.

https://twitter.com/markhmasters/status/1595852066437709826

Robertson was given 10:22 of ice time against the Devils, and that resulted in zero points, zero shots on goals, and one hit. Not the most compelling case for keeping Robertson in the lineup, but there is understandably a bigger payoff from keeping Robertson in the lineup over Simmonds. Or at least you could make a case for going back to Malgin.

Simmonds has played just four games this season, and it feels like he's coming in specifically because of the Minnesota Wild's acquisition of Ryan Reaves and the fact that he'll be looking to make a case for helping out his new team.

As much as I'd like to see either Robertson or Malgin over Simmonds, it's been a while since Simmonds has played and if you are going to play him, it is in these situations and perhaps it showcases Simmonds to interested team that will acquire him and play him.

It's also important to note that Simmonds not being sent down means the Leafs have 14 forwards on their roster, and 8 defensemen. With Jordie Benn not in practice, it's safe to assume he's out for Minnesota.

https://twitter.com/dalter/status/1595854470067388422

https://twitter.com/dalter/status/1595853508670259201

Timmins is fresh off his conditioning stint with the Roadrunners and would require waivers to be sent down to the AHL. While Timmins would certainly be a helpful option for the Leafs, the lack of hockey he's played and being on the ice with the Leafs for the first time probably means that he doesn't find himself into the lineup, and Victor Mete will be replacing Jordie Benn. That's certainly unfortunate.

https://twitter.com/markhmasters/status/1595854521544179712

https://twitter.com/markhmasters/status/1595872711686983680

The Leafs have been insistent that Samsonov won't be playing on the road trip, but getting him back into regular practice work is a good sign. I would have figured that Murray would have been the starter against the Penguins on Saturday rather than the Friday night game against the  Wild, but it sounds like he could get both. That seems like the opposite of load management when it comes to Murray.

https://twitter.com/dalter/status/1595857306385846277

Some mild praise for the lines that are largely going to be criticized for the addition of Wayne Simmonds. Calle Jarnkrok on the 2nd line is something I've wanted to see and if Nick Robertson sitting is what has led to that, it's doable for a game.

Holmberg seems to be getting an increasingly tougher hand from Keefe, and wonder if he's testing him on purpose, to see how capable he is of driving his line.

The Mete-Hollowell third pairing is scary and pretty much requires every other defenseman pushing a 20+ minute workload, and some help will probably be required from Marner as well.

https://twitter.com/markhmasters/status/1595871876919820288

Sigh. Week to week.

Simmonds in, Benn hurt, Samsonov practicing: Leafs practice notes

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