Tonight, the Toronto Maple Leafs face a must-win situation in Game 3 of their first-round series with the Boston Bruins. The Leafs will go into the game without forward Leo Komarov. Komarov is out with a lower-body injury that he suffered in Game 2 of the series.
Leafs head coach Mike Babcock made the announcement following the team’s Monday Morning Skate. He hopes that Komarov will only be out for one game.
Mike Babcock’s update on Leo Komarov: “He’s going to skate tomorrow. He was going to skate today , but we have two days [off before Game 4], so we kept him off. He’s not playing today, he’ll skate tomorrow and then skate the following day and he’ll be a game-time decision.”
— Kristen Shilton (@kristen_shilton) April 16, 2018
Leo Komarov Out for Game 3
Komarov was injured on a play along the boards when he was hit by Boston defenceman Kevan Miller. It appeared that during the collision, the two players hit knee-on-knee. Komarov tried to continue but it was obvious that he was not 100%. He eventually left the game in the second period and did not return.
For anyone who didn’t get a chance to see the knee contact, this is what took Komarov out. Unlucky. pic.twitter.com/48rn9SGfii
— Brandon Share-Cohen (@BShareCohen) April 15, 2018
Lineup Changes
With Komarov out of the lineup, and Nazem Kadri serving the second game of his three-game suspension, the Leafs have made changes to the lineup. Patrick Marleau, who centred a line with Komarov and Mitch Marner on Saturday, moves back to left wing. Fourth line centre, Tomas Plekanec, moves up to centre the second line. Dominic Moore will take Plekanec’s place on the fourth line.
Tomas Plekanec gets bumped up in new #leafs lines:
Hyman-Matthews-Nylander
Marleau-Plekanec-Marner
JVR-Bozak-Brown
Johnsson-Moore-Kapanen— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) April 16, 2018
Main Photo: TORONTO, ON – APRIL 19: Leo Komarov #47 of the Toronto Maple Leafs skates during the warm-up prior to playing against the Washington Capitals in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2017 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Air Canada Centre on April 19, 2017 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Capitals defeated the Maple Leafs 5-4 to even series 2-2. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
