Leafs say no timeline for Murray’s return from head injury

The Maple Leafs and Columbus Blue Jackets skated at Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday. 

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There is no timeline for Matt Murray to return from a head injury sustained on Sunday night. 

"Right now it's going to be a day-to-day thing in terms of sorting through exactly where he's at and what the time frame might be," said coach Sheldon Keefe. "It'd be difficult to put any real timeline on it until we give him more time to settle."

Murray's season ended last year due to a concussion. He also sustained multiple head injuries during his time with the Pittsburgh Penguins. 

Joseph Woll is up from the American Hockey League on an emergency recall and will make his ninth NHL start on Tuesday. Ilya Samsonov, who is 25-10-4 with a .915 save percentage this season, will get a well-deserved night off. He replaced Murray on Sunday night after posting a shutout in Ottawa on Saturday.

"With Sammy and Joe we've got lots of confidence there," said Keefe. "Sammy's been really rolling towards the playoff here, so on that side of it I don't think it's too much of a disruption. It is a good chance for us to get Joe going, which is something, internally, we were talking about."

Toronto's goalies have combined to post a .906 save percentage this season, which is 10th overall.

"Our goaltending's been outstanding all year, so we feel great," said defenceman Morgan Rielly. 

"Our depth in goal throughout the organization is extremely strong," added captain John Tavares. "A real strength for us." 

Woll is having an excellent season with the Toronto Marlies, going 16-4-1 with a .927 save percentage. He's also won three of four starts with the Leafs this year. 

"Just always has a big smile on his face," noted Tavares. "Just happy-go-lucky and I really think that helps his overall game ... Probably more comfortable in his own skin around the group going through it a little bit more. He's been solid for us when called upon."

Woll's only NHL loss this season came against the Blue Jackets on Feb. 11.

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Ryan O'Reilly skated again with the team on Tuesday, but will miss a 14th straight game. 

"He's really close," Keefe said. "He's not going to play tonight, but he wants to play, I think. He's excited to get going. They're going to hold him out again today. He's going to get another follow-up and picture of the finger today and that will set the course for the rest of the week."

The 32-year-old centre returned to practice in a no-contact sweater last Friday. 

"He's right there," said Tavares. "We know it's going to be any day now, so we're excited about that. Obviously that will go a long way in helping the chemistry build."

O'Reilly played eight games with the Leafs before breaking the index finger on his left hand on March 4. 

"He's been working hard to get back," said Rielly. "I know he wants to play. He's new here and he wants to be included. He wants to contribute and everything. He's been grinding and working away. He's still got a swollen finger from the looks of things, but he's doing everything he can to get back and play."

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Tavares will start Tuesday's game on a line with William Nylander and Mitch Marner. 

"Wherever we put Mitch that line has done really well, so that’s something that we're confident and comfortable with," said Keefe. "Other than when I stack a line here or there throughout a game on an icing or whatever, we haven't worked with Mitch and Will together a lot. So that's something I want to give a little bit of time to."

Tavares only has one 5-on-5 goal in the past 15 games dating back to the start of March. Nylander only has three 5-on-5 goals in his past 16 games. 

Marner will be returning to the lineup after missing Sunday's game to rest some bumps and bruises. He's five points away from 100. 

Auston Matthews will skate between Michael Bunting and Calle Jarnkrok. 

"The way Auston and Jarnkrok have really come together and how they've played of late, I think this gives me an opportunity to let that continue to develop while also knowing Auston and Bunts do really well," Keefe explained. "To me, Bunts' game has been trending in the right direction for a while now."

Matthews and Jarnkrok lead the Leafs with six 5-on-5 goals each over the past 16 games. 

Nylander skipped the morning skate. 

"I gave Auston, Will and John each the option to not skate this morning and Will decided to exercise that," Keefe revealed.

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After Bunting was assessed an embellishment penalty and then a 10-minute misconduct during Sunday's game, Keefe indicated that general manager Kyle Dubas would reach out to the league to talk about how the winger is being officiated.

"I haven't got an update from Kyle on that," said Keefe. "I had enough going on getting the team ready to play today."

Bunting refused to talk about what led to the misconduct. 

"I'm not really going comment on that," the 27-year-old winger said. "I play hard. I play in those tough areas and that's my game, to play on the edge, so I plan on keep doing that and moving on."

Bunting has already taken 38 penalties, which is up from 32 all of last season. Is he being officiated differently? 

"I don't know," he said. "It's such a fast game. It's an emotional game both for players and probably officials too. Things happen so fast and they make their calls and I just got to play through them and keep on going, so I'm not really worried."

"He's handled it well," said Tavares. "As a group we've pushed him and challenged him to continue to find that balance of playing his game, playing on the edge, but also understanding the dynamic of that and also building relationships with the officials. He's done a really good job, especially over the last few months here, he's really taken initiative with how he can improve on those things and understanding that dynamic as a young player. He plays with a lot of emotion and plays hard and plays on the edge. He's done a good job there. It's not always easy. At times [it] can be frustrating, but he's done a good job and he'll only continue to learn through experience."

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Jet Greaves gets the start for the Blue Jackets. It will be the 22-year-old's NHL debut. 

"It's really special to be able to play here," the Cambridge, Ont. native said. "Any time I get the opportunity to come home and play in Canada and get the Canadian air it's always a little more special.

"He's earned it," said coach Brad Larsen. "He's played really well down there [in the AHL]. He's played a real good stretch of hockey. He's from here, but it's not calculated like that, but that's how it worked out. He's just getting rewarded for what he's done."

Greaves will have his parents and many more supporters in the building on Tuesday night. 

"I told my parents, 'Make sure you guys are set up and then you guys figure out the rest,' so we'll see how much that costs me on the back end," Greaves said with a smile. 

"It's an expensive night, I think," Larsen said with a laugh. 

This is a full-circle moment for Greaves, who admired former Leaf Frederik Andersen as a kid. 

"I was always a big fan of Andersen," Greaves said. "I always liked his game, his calmness and the poise that he had. He was a guy that I loved to follow growing up in Toronto."

And one moment, in particular, stood out. 

"I must've been 13 or 14 maybe and I came to a game here and I remember Fred was playing," Greaves recalled. "I was with my buddies and we were watching in warm-up and I just kind of had this weird experience where I was like, 'I would love to play here one day. I would love to be in the NHL.' I was like, 'Maybe one day,' so to be here now is really special."

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Noel Acciari returns to the Leafs lineup after missing three games with a neck/whiplash injury. 

Luke Schenn will be a healthy scratch, but Keefe said the gritty blueliner will draw back in for Thursday's game in Boston. 

Erik Gustafsson is expected to take part in the pre-game warmup on Tuesday. It will be the first time the defenceman skates with teammates since going on personal leave on March 30.  

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The Leafs will host their annual Pride night in support of the 2SLGBTQ+ community. While other teams have had their players wear special Pride-themed jerseys during warmups, the Leafs have never done that and will not do so this year. 

"We never have before," Rielly stressed. "I was at the [Pride] parade with Kyle Dubas and [president] Brendan Shanahan and the belief within the organization has always been there in terms of including people and having our team be a place where everyone is welcome and safe. Whether you wear jerseys or not, I believe that actions speak louder than words and especially speak louder than attire." 

Leafs players will have Pride decals on their helmets. Samsonov, who is from Russia, is not expected to have a decal on his helmet, per the team's media relations staff.

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Lines at Tuesday's Leafs skate:

Bunting - Matthews - Jarnkrok 
O’Reilly - Tavares - Marner 
Aston-Reese - Kampf - Lafferty 
Abruzzese - Acciari - Kerfoot 
Simmonds 

Rielly - Brodie 
McCabe - Holl 
Giordano - Liljegren 
Timmins - Schenn 

Woll starts 
Samsonov