Leafs’ Timothy Liljegren out with upper-body injury, Mark Giordano activated from long-term injured reserve.
Some jostling of the personnel on the Toronto Maple Leafs’ blueline leading up to their game on Thursday night.
Not 30 minutes before the Leafs’ clash with the Washington Capitals, defenseman Timothy Liljegren was deemed not fit to play, with the team revealing that the 24-year-old is suffering from an upper-body injury.
In a corresponding move, Toronto activated defenseman Mark Giordano off long-term injured reserve. The 2019 Norris Trophy winner will be in the lineup for the first time since Feb. 29.
Liljegren and Giordano have had tough 2023-24 campaigns, as both have been bitten hard by the injury bug.
Liljegren missed two games in late February with an undisclosed injury, and missed over a month with a high-ankle sprain, in which the Swedish blueliner was placed on LTIR back in November. Also, in October, Liljegren had to leave a game against the Nashville Predators with an upper-body injury, but did not miss any time.
In 52 games this season, the 17th overall pick in 2017 has scored three goals and 20 assists. In 193 career games, Liljegren has registered 14 goals and 51 assists, playing in seven playoff games with the Leafs.
Giordano has been on the shelf since March 1 after suffering a concussion in his last game against the Arizona Coyotes almost a month ago. The 40-year-old took time away from the team in February following the death of his father, having been out of the lineup with a lower-body injury not long before that.
In 38 appearances this season, Giordano has scored a goal and seven points, having posted 156 goals and 419 assists in 1,140 career games. The veteran has also put up 11 points in 41 postseason games.
Coming into Thursday, the Maple Leafs (40-22-9) are third in the Atlantic Division, eight points behind the Florida Panthers for second, but only two ahead of the fourth-place Tampa Bay Lightning.
