Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe explains what led to Liljegren's late scratch on Thursday following the team's 5-1 win against the Washington Captials.

Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe teased that he had some game-time decisions and possible injuries outside of the obvious.

It turns out he was talking about Timothy Liljegren.

The defenseman was a surprise scratch ahead of the club's 5-1 win against the Washington Capitals on Thursday. The Leafs announced during the pre-game warmup that the defenseman had an upper-body injury.

"Lily was one of the guys yesterday that wasn't going to be available for practice, got a little banged up the other night," Keefe explained after the game. "And then he tried it today in the morning skate and just wasn't right. So he's going to miss some time here for us."

The Maple Leafs changed course on Wednesday after many players weren't available to practice as the club held a skills practice instead of a full session. Liljegren joined Morgan Rielly and Joel Edmundson as injured blueliners that are now unavailable to the Maple Leafs.

Rielly (upper-body) is day-to-day and Keefe sounded optimistic of having the defenseman back soon. Edmundson, whom the club acquired earlier this month from the Capitals, was ruled out for the remainder of the week with an undisclosed injury.

Liljegren has three goals and 20 assists in 52 games this season.

Veteran defenseman Mark Giordano dressed as the team's sixth defenseman and was activated from long-term injured reserve after missing nearly a month with a head injury, last month he mourned the passing of his father, Paul. He scored the game's opening goal and saluted his father by pointing and looking up to the sky.

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