Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Timothy Liljegren was back at practice on Friday after he took a puck to the top of his head in the third period against the Winnipeg Jets and did not finish the game.
Timothy Liljegren says he was a little shaken up but was fine after he took a puck to the top of the head from Brenden Dillon’s shot late in the third period.
“Yeah, all good with the head,” Liljegren said. “I just had to do all of that concussion protocol stuff so that’s why I left the game.”
The Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman added that he felt good once he got to the dressing room and was cleared to participate in practice on Thursday. He occupied his newly-established regular spot alongside Morgan Rielly, while TJ Brodie remains out with a rib injury.
Liljegren had one of his worst games from a possession standpoint in quite some time, He finished the game a 37 per cent expected-goals share at 5-on-5, which was not only his worst game of 2023 up to this point but the only one in which the number fell below 50 percent.
The Jet came out flying against the Maple Leafs on Thursday, peppering Toronto with 16 shots on goal in the opening period, but Ilya Samsonov all of those shots and more in a 4-1 victory for the Leafs.
Liljegren escaping serious injury is a bit of a breather for the Maple Leafs who have had their fair share of injuries on the blue line this season.
Although the Leafs left Scotiabank Arena assured that Liljegren would be just fine.
"When it first happens, there was definitely concern on our bench, for sure," Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said of Liljegren.
The 23-year-old defenseman missed the opening month of the season due to hernia surgery. He made his season debut on Nov. 5 against the Boston Bruins and has made strides in what is essentially his second full season with the club. In 35 games, Liljegren has three goals and eight assists and has averaged 18:31 of ice time.