The Leafs are about to kick off a set of back-to-back games this weekend. Tomorrow night against Montreal and then on to Chicago to face the Blackhawks. Not the most intimidating of back-to-backs, but the Leafs certainly can&#8217;t underestimate their unintimidating opponents any longer. The dog fight for 2nd in the Atlantic with the Lightning only emphasizes that. There were a few things of note from the Leafs practice today, here&#8217;s the rundown:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
Practice starts in about 30 minutes. Beforehand, Matt Murray was getting some work in with goalie coach Curtis Sanford. Murray has been out with an ankle injury. <a href="https://t.co/pl8zqhhfSe">pic.twitter.com/pl8zqhhfSe</a>
&mdash; David Alter (@dalter) <a href="https://twitter.com/dalter/status/1626620534338224128?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 17, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Matt Murray getting some special attention before practice. It&#8217;s great to see him on the ice and in full gear, but he didn&#8217;t stick around for the main practice and expecting him to be ready anytime soon is a bit of a stretch. Until we hear otherwise we&#8217;ll assume that Woll and Samsonov will be splitting the weekend work.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
Leafs practice getting underway 
Ilya Samsonov is not on the ice <a href="https://twitter.com/TSN_Edge?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TSN_Edge</a> <a href="https://t.co/ooc7VrrbkV">pic.twitter.com/ooc7VrrbkV</a>
&mdash; Mark Masters (@markhmasters) <a href="https://twitter.com/markhmasters/status/1626627896759418881?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 17, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The Leafs went with just one goaltender at practice today and that was Joseph Woll. If I had to guess this is a prelude to Woll getting the start on Saturday, but as you&#8217;ll see in the tweet below nothing has been etched in stone:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
Samsonov sick today. Starter tomorrow to be determined <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Leafs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Leafs</a>
&mdash; Terry Koshan 🇺🇦 (@koshtorontosun) <a href="https://twitter.com/koshtorontosun/status/1626646974752559113?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 17, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Yeah, maybe don&#8217;t take the chance and have Kallgren ready to go if needed as well. Woll on the Saturday night stage against Montreal might be fun too and a good opportunity to see what he can do with a more rested team in front of him.
Conor Timmins&#8217; reward for a strong night is getting the next game off. I guess we should know that&#8217;s coming and when push comes to shove he is still the guy on the outside looking in with this group, but it would be nice to see him get another go. I don&#8217;t doubt we&#8217;ll see him against Chicago on Sunday so Keefe can get some fresh legs into the lineup. I don&#8217;t know that anything Holl has done warrants an extended absence from the lineup and the same is true of the rest of the Leafs blueline, so Timmins will have to come in when he can.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Leafs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Leafs</a> lines during practice Feb. 17/23
Bunting-Matthews-Nylander Kerfoot-Tavares-Marner Engvall-Kampf-Jarnkrok AstonReese-Holmberg-Anderson
Rielly-Brodie Giordano-Liljegren Sandin-Holl Extra: Benn, Timmins
Woll
*Samsonov not present. <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/1626629700612198401?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 17, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Other than Sandin with Holl the lineup looks to be more of the same from what worked against Chicago. It&#8217;s great to see Liljegren getting the best opportunities the Leafs can put in front of him but I have to admit to wanting Sandin/Holl to be sheltered a bit more. Not that Sandin looked bad against Chicago, but I do expect Montreal to push them a bit harder than a bad team playing bad on Wednesday night.
&nbsp;

The Leafs are about to kick off a set of back-to-back games this weekend. Tomorrow night against Montreal and then on to Chicago to face the Blackhawks. Not the most intimidating of back-to-backs, but the Leafs certainly can't underestimate their unintimidating opponents any longer. The dog fight for 2nd in the Atlantic with the Lightning only emphasizes that. There were a few things of note from the Leafs practice today, here's the rundown:

https://twitter.com/dalter/status/1626620534338224128

Matt Murray getting some special attention before practice. It's great to see him on the ice and in full gear, but he didn't stick around for the main practice and expecting him to be ready anytime soon is a bit of a stretch. Until we hear otherwise we'll assume that Woll and Samsonov will be splitting the weekend work.

https://twitter.com/markhmasters/status/1626627896759418881

The Leafs went with just one goaltender at practice today and that was Joseph Woll. If I had to guess this is a prelude to Woll getting the start on Saturday, but as you'll see in the tweet below nothing has been etched in stone:

https://twitter.com/koshtorontosun/status/1626646974752559113

Yeah, maybe don't take the chance and have Kallgren ready to go if needed as well. Woll on the Saturday night stage against Montreal might be fun too and a good opportunity to see what he can do with a more rested team in front of him.

Conor Timmins' reward for a strong night is getting the next game off. I guess we should know that's coming and when push comes to shove he is still the guy on the outside looking in with this group, but it would be nice to see him get another go. I don't doubt we'll see him against Chicago on Sunday so Keefe can get some fresh legs into the lineup. I don't know that anything Holl has done warrants an extended absence from the lineup and the same is true of the rest of the Leafs blueline, so Timmins will have to come in when he can.

https://twitter.com/dalter/status/1626629700612198401

Other than Sandin with Holl the lineup looks to be more of the same from what worked against Chicago. It's great to see Liljegren getting the best opportunities the Leafs can put in front of him but I have to admit to wanting Sandin/Holl to be sheltered a bit more. Not that Sandin looked bad against Chicago, but I do expect Montreal to push them a bit harder than a bad team playing bad on Wednesday night.

&nbsp;

Samsonov out sick, Murray skates and Holl back in the lineup: Leafs Practice Notes

Recent articles from Jon Steitzer

Breaking News