William Nylander not in the Maple Leafs' lineup for Game 3 against Boston

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William Nylander was not in the Maple Leafs lineup for Game 3 on Wednesday night against the Boston Bruins.

In the morning, Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe had said there was “a chance” that Nylander would suit up after the winger participated in the morning skate on a line with Pontus Holmberg and Calle Jarnkrok.

It was not to be, as Nylander — who stayed on the ice in the morning long after his teammates had departed — didn’t join his teammates for the pre-game warmup at Scotiabank Arena and was scratched. 

Nylander, the only Leafs player to play in all 82 games during the 2023-24 regular season, has been nursing an undisclosed injury since last Thursday.

It’s possible that Nylander will play in Game 4 of the best-of-seven series, tied 1-1, on Saturday in Toronto. He would have the benefit of skating in a full practice on Friday before possibly making his return.

“How you adjust without Willie, you really don’t,” Keefe said in the morning. “You just keep pressing on. How you need to play and what’s required to compete and win at this time of the year is the same no matter who is in or out.”

Auston Matthews took part in the warmup after missing the morning skate so he could rest. 

The starting goalies were as expected: Ilya Samsonov for the Leafs and Jeremy Swayman for the Bruins.

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How the Leafs lined up in the warmup:
FORWARDS

LW-C-RW

Tyler Bertuzzi-Auston Matthews-Max Domi

Matthew Knies-John Tavares-Mitch Marner

Nick Robertson-Pontus Holmberg-Calle Jarnkrok

Connor Dewar-David Kampf-Ryan Reaves

DEFENCE

Morgan Rielly-Ilya Lyubushkin

Simon Benoit-Jake McCabe

Joel Edmundson-Timothy Liljegren

GOAL

Ilya Samsonov

Joseph Woll

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