Lyubushkin said he missed the remainder of Saturday's game because of NHL protocol.
Lyubushkin said he missed the remainder of Saturday's game because of NHL protocol.
Ilya Lyubushkin participated in the Maple Leafs morning skate on Monday and appears to be okay following the hit from the New York Rangers' Matt Rempe that took him out of the game on Saturday night.
Toronto's newest trade acquisition left Saturday's game in the second period and didn't return. Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said following the game that Lyubushkin had suffered a head injury on the hit from Rempe.
"I feel good. Pretty good. Normal," Lyubushkin said on Monday morning after he participated in the Maple Leafs' full morning skate ahead of their game against Boston.
The 29-year-old said the reason why he had to leave the game was because of the NHL protocols when it comes to hits to the head.
"It's protocol," he said. "Nothing we can do."
Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said that the 29-year-old was feeling good both following the game on Sunday, and going into the morning skate on Monday.
"All the protocols he was unable to get through on Saturday, he was able to get through yesterday and today as well," Keefe added. "If he continues to respond well after this skate here today, then he'll be good to go.
"As it turned out, a lot of the discomfort he was feeling was coming from some neck and shoulder issues that were causing some discomfort in the head, but they seem to have got that settled down."
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Lyubushkin played a total of 12:12 in his first game with the Maple Leafs since being acquired from the Anaheim Ducks. He and his defense partner, Morgan Rielly, were on the ice for a goal for and against, but Keefe liked what he saw from the Russian defenseman.
"Boosh himself, I thought — despite the fact that he was working on four or five hours sleep and three-hour time change, big trade, and all these kinds of things that happened, and no practice with us — that he stepped in and looked very comfortable," Keefe said.
Matter of fact, the head coach liked how the entire defense core looked on Saturday night against a strong Rangers team.
"It just looked like it was flowing well. In talking to Mike Van Ryn, he felt good just about all three pairs being able to basically play against anybody, and being able to just let the guys flow out there door. And that the lefty and righty pieces for (TJ) Brodie and (Morgan) Rielly seemed to help them having right-handed partners," Keefe added.
"It was very encouraging what we saw for sure."
Lyubushkin said he felt good in his second debut with Toronto. He even mentioned, once again, that he's "super excited and pumped" to wear a Maple Leafs jersey. The defender is also delighted to be working alongside Rielly again.
"He's unbelievable player. Good partner," Lyubushkin said. "So skilled, so smart. [He] try to help me a lot."
Although the systems aren't that different from when he was last on the Maple Leafs, Lyubushkin is still being brought up to speed a bit.
"Actually, a lot of help from Morgan because we played together. Still spoke each other. It's easy to join [this team]," he said.
Ryan Reaves dropped the gloves on Saturday night following the hit that sent Lyubushkin to the Maple Leafs' dressing room.
"Obviously he buries Boosh whenever it was," Reaves said on Monday. "I thought that was an appropriate time to ask [to fight] and good on [Rempe] for doing it."
And that moment didn't go unnoticed by Lyubushkin, who was likely still going through protocol when the fight began.
"It's so nice for him. Good guy, good teammate," Lyubushkin said. "I feel good to have him on this team."
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