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BUFFALO — The Maple Leafs have placed Mitch Marner on longterm injured reserve.
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The move is retroactive to March 7, the day Marner was hurt in Boston against the Bruins.
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While Marner would be eligible to return on Monday when the Leafs play host to the Florida Panthers, he won’t play. The Leafs won’t practise again until Tuesday, and coach Sheldon Keefe doesn’t want to use Marner before he has had another full go with his teammates.
So it’s possible Marner gets into the lineup at home against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday.
Marner was placed on LTIR for “roster management purposes,” the club said.
The Leafs also recalled defenceman Marshall Rifai from the Toronto Marlies on Saturday morning ahead of the game against the Buffalo Sabres at the KeyBank Center. That was done for insurance reasons.
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“We were down to six defencemen and the way things have been going (with injuries to Morgan Rielly, Joel Edmundson and Timothy Liljegren), it’s important to have an additional guy, so he’ll be in warmup tonight,” Keefe said.
While it has been reported that Marner suffered a high ankle sprain in Boston, in his first media availability on Friday since he was hurt, he would not confirm his specific injury.
DEVILISH EXAMPLE
Once they hit the ice on Saturday night, the Leafs will be looking to avenge a 9-3 loss in Buffalo on Dec. 21. It’s the only time in 2023-24 that the Leafs have allowed more than six goals in a game.
The Leafs didn’t skate on Saturday morning, but were at the rink for pre-game meetings.
Keefe said he referred to that loss to the Sabres during his meetings with the team on Friday, but used a recent example with the group of what they can’t repeat. That would be the 6-3 loss to New Jersey on Tuesday, after which Keefe was disappointed in what he called his team’s “immature” performance.
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“(The 9-3 loss) is a reminder of what this opponent is capable of, the type of skill that they have,” Keefe said. “When you don’t play an organized game you open up the possibility for something like that to happen.
“It’s more the New Jersey example in terms of the chances we gave up and the type of game that we played. We gave up free offence. Those kind of games, this (Sabres) team thrives. Whether it’s New Jersey or Buffalo or Columbus, there’s a ton of skill on these teams.
“You look at them as maybe teams that you should be able to win against. (But) they make it really hard if you don’t play with detail and structure and discipline in your game. That’s really what it’s about for us.”
The Leafs rebounded nicely after losing to the Devils in a convincing 5-1 win against the Washington Capitals on Thursday.
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Ilya Samsonov, who was pulled in the loss in Buffalo in December, gets the start for the Leafs.
The Sabres will be playing the second half of a back-to-back after beating New Jersey 5-2 at home on Friday night.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen will start in goal for Buffalo.
LOOSE LEAFS
Leafs defenceman Ilya Lyubushkin, who spent last season with the Sabres, remains friends with the neighbours he made in south Buffalo and they will be at the game tonight. “Our properties were so close to each other and they have a small pond where my kids could fish,” Lyubushkin said. “We rode four-wheelers together. It’s nice to see them.” … Keefe on the line of Pontus Holmberg between Matthew Knies and Nick Robertson: “Three young guys that we think could hopefully be in the organization a long time. It’s three players that are trying to find their way in the league. As they get more comfortable, I think there’s great possibilities. The skill sets match well. We like what we’ve seen from it. (But) when we get healthy, I don’t see it as a trio.” … The Sabres are 3-8-0 in the second game of back-to-back sets.
X: @koshtorontosun
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2024-03-30 17:11:39Z
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