The Toronto Maple Leafs will have both Timothy Liljegren and Matthew Knies back in the lineup when the Pittsburgh Penguins head north to Canada on Saturday night, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported.
Liljegren hasn't played since suffering a lower-body injury in a game against the Boston Bruins back on Nov. 2. He was tripped into the boards by Brad Marchand in a play that controversially was not penalized.
He was placed on long-term injured reserve two days later, and has been out of the lineup since — a 17-game absence.
The 24-year-old has accounted for one assist over 10 games this season. He's been good for 11 goals and 43 points throughout his 151-game NHL career after being selected No. 17 overall by the Leafs in the 2017 NHL Draft. At Saturday's morning skate, Liljegren returned to his place on the top pairing alongside Morgan Rielly.
Matthew Knies back on the top line
Matthew Knies hasn't played since Monday night's 4-3 loss to the New York Islanders. The 21-year-old winger has been dealing with an illness that kept him out of Tuesday's 7-3 victory over the New York Rangers, as well as Thursday's 6-5 overtime loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets.
But Knies returned to the morning skate on Saturday, and all signs point to him returning to the lineup against the Penguins as well. He's currently mired in a six-game goal drought, a span in which he's registered just six shots and an assist.
Article Continues BelowStill, the youngster will be thrust back into a top-six role, and he was taking line rushes alongside superstars Auston Matthews and William Nylander on the top line on Saturday morning.
He also figures to return to the second powerplay unit, alongside Tyler Bertuzzi, Max Domi, Calle Jarnkrok and Conor Timmins.
Leafs keep rolling
Both Timothy Liljegren and Matthew Knies will be welcome sights at Scotiabank Arena, but even without the two young players, the Leafs are on fire as of late.
Toronto has picked up a point in nine of its last 10, improving to 15-6-6 and sitting just six points back of the Boston Bruins for the top spot in the Atlantic Division. The Leafs have a game in hand.
They'll look to make up some ground on Hockey Night in Canada; puck drop between the Leafs and Penguins is set for just past 7 p.m. ET.