The Toronto Maple Leafs have had to do a lot of lineup juggling over the last few weeks as they prepare to be without their top defenseman.
As Morgan Rielly faces suspension for his cross-check to the head of Ottawa Senators forward Ridly Greig, comes word that goaltender Martin Jones sustained an injury "that popped up later in the day" according to Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe.
Ilya Samsonov will get the start in goal against the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday and rookie goaltender Dennis Hildeby will be called up for back-up duty.
Jones worked with goaltending coach Curtis Sanford on Monday but was not one of the goaltenders who took part in the team's practice session. The Leafs say the veteran netminder is day-to-day.
Joseph Woll took part in his first full practice on Monday and the Leafs could be getting some help in goal, but the club has yet to put a timeline on when the goaltender can return from a high-ankle sprain that has kept him out of the lineup since Dec. 7.
The Leafs begin a stretch where they will play six games in 10 days and if Jones can't return quickly, we may finally see the NHL debut of Hildeby.
The Swedish goaltender was called up to the Leafs earlier in the season as Samsonov underwent some struggles in net but the club never opted to put him into an NHL game. Even going so far as to start Jones for starts on consecutive nights against the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks on Jan 2 and 3.
With Rielly expected out due to suspension, an opportunity would have been created for defenseman Conor Timmins to get into the lineup. However, the player has been diagnosed with mononucleosis and is out indefinitely.
Defenseman Mark Giordano and forward David Kampf will return to the lineup after both took part in practice on Monday. Giordano missed one game with a foot injury and Kampf had been out since the NHL All-Star break with an undisclosed ailment.
There is one other game-time decision for the Maple Leafs, although Keefe didn't reveal who it was. Noah Gregor, who is usually on the ice for optional skates didn't take part. The last time that occurred, Gregor was scratched with the flu.
In the event Gregor cannot play, Max Lajoie would draw in and the Leafs would go with 11 forwards and seven defensemen.
Betting
The Maple Leafs come in as a favourite at -208. The Blues are a heavy underdog at +170 according to MGM.
Where to watch
Viewers in the Toronto Maple Leafs' region can watch stream the game on TSN4. For the rest of Canada the game will stream on Sportsnet+ Premium. In the St. Louis region the game will stream on Bally Sports Midwest and Bally Sports Indiana. For the rest of the United States the game will stream on ESPN+.
For the rest of the world, the game will stream on the respective carrier of NHL.tv.
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