Marincin to replace Muzzin for Maple Leafs in Game 3 of Cup Qualifiers

Martin Marincin will replace Jake Muzzin in the Toronto Maple Leafs lineup for Game 3 of their Stanley Cup Qualifiers series against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, TVAS, SN, FS-O, NHL.TV).

Muzzin is out for the rest of the best-of-5 series after the defenseman was hospitalized following an injury late in the third period of Game 2.

"Marincin is going to go in for sure and take on some of that responsibility that Muzzin had for us and we'll make a further decision from there," Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe said Wednesday.

The No. 8 seed Maple Leafs evened the series with a 3-0 win against the No. 9 seed Blue Jackets. The series winner advances to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Marincin skated on a pair with Tyson Barrie at practice Wednesday, and Travis Dermott was paired with Justin Holl, Muzzin's usual partner. Dermott played with Holl during the regular season when Muzzin was out of the lineup with a broken hand, sustained against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Feb. 25.

Keefe said he is considering whether to use seven defensemen in Game 3. If so, rookie Rasmus Sandin would make his NHL postseason debut.

"We're still talking about it, haven't made any final decision on what we are going to do there," Keefe said. "We've tried different things when we'd lost Muzzin before and went with seven defensemen. We're going to discuss it throughout the day and make the decision we think is best."

Muzzin was released from the hospital overnight and is at a hotel in Toronto, the Eastern Conference hub city. He was taken from the ice on a stretcher with 1:52 remaining in the third period at Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday. The Maple Leafs said he will quarantine in the hotel and try to rejoin them when he recovers from the injury. As part of the NHL Return to Play Plan, a team is not permitted to disclose player injury or illness information.

Muzzin fell chest-first onto the legs of Blue Jackets forward Oliver Bjorkstrand to the right behind the Toronto goal. Muzzin was down for more than 10 minutes lying on his back before being immobilized and taken from the ice, with stick taps from each team.

Marincin has played six NHL postseason games, for Toronto in 2017. The 28-year-old had four points (one goal, three assists) in 26 games this season.

"We think that Marty brings some of the elements that Muzzin brings," Keefe said. "Obviously he doesn't replace Muzzin in the intangibles he brings; he's a very important player for us. But there are some elements in particular, the penalty killing and the size (6-foot-5, 217 pounds), there are some similarities in terms of what he can provide us and we think that is important."

Muzzin was second among Toronto defensemen in shorthanded ice time at 3:00 per game through Games 1 and 2 against Columbus (Holl, 3:47), and was second during the regular season at 2:31 per game (Cody Ceci, 2:50).

Defenseman Morgan Rielly said Muzzin, who won the Stanley Cup with the Los Angeles Kings in 2014, is a difficult player to replace.

"It starts with the off-ice aspect in terms of what he brings to our group being a leader and his playoff mentality," Rielly said. "He has experience and he's played in these types of games before, so that'll be missed. On the ice, he plays tough minutes against the opponent's top line, playing penalty-kill minutes, he's a big, tough guy out there (6-foot-3, 217) that blocks shots and leads by example. We're going to miss him. You can't really replace Jake; you just hope to have guys rise to the occasion."