Maple Leafs' Bunting, Liljegren, Gustafsson slot into Game 6 lineup

The Toronto Maple Leafs went with a wildly different look as they took their second crack at eliminating the Tampa Bay Lightning during Saturday night's Game 6.

Head coach Sheldon Keefe rolled with 11 forwards and seven defensemen following his team's 4-2 Game 5 loss Thursday, with winger Michael Bunting and rearguards Timothy Liljegren and Erik Gustafsson entering the fold.

Rookie Matthew Knies joined Auston Matthews and William Nylander on the top line, while Bunting skated alongside Ryan O'Reilly and Noel Acciari.

Struggling defenseman Justin Holl sat out, as did forwards Sam Lafferty and Zach Aston-Reese.

The Maple Leafs have been outscored 14-2 with Holl on the ice in all situations during the first-round clash, and he was on for three of the Lightning's four goals during Game 5.

Keefe defended Holl after the contest, pointing out that the beleaguered blue-liner was "not out there by himself."

Liljegren and Gustafsson both made their series debuts. Liljegren, 23, put up 18 points and was a plus-24 in 67 regular-season contests in 2022-23.

Gustafsson, meanwhile, had 42 points in 70 games as a member of the Washington Capitals and Maple Leafs this campaign. Toronto acquired him prior to the trade deadline, but he only got into nine contests with his new team.

Prior to Game 6, Bunting hadn't played since earning a three-game suspension for his hit on Bolts defenseman Erik Cernak during the series opener on April 18. Bunting was available to return in Game 5 but was made a healthy scratch as Keefe selected the same lineup that fired off three straight victories to put Tampa Bay on the brink of elimination.

The Scarborough native logged 23 goals and 26 assists in 82 games during the regular season.

Lafferty recorded one helper through five games and is a minus-three in the series, while Aston-Reese scored one goal in the Maple Leafs' Game 2 blowout.