'I Gotta Be Better Defensively': Timothy Liljegren Accountable For Defensive Play Slipping, Wants Improvement From Himself in Maple Leafs' Zone

The two five-on-five goals against that Liljegren was on the ice for were Boston's third and fourth. He attempted to block Jake DeBrusk's shot, but the Bruins forward used his patience to wait out Liljegren before beating Joseph Woll over the glove.

"On the third goal, it was more like keep my stick out, like, stick on puck instead of blocking a shot there," he said.

The Bruins' fourth goal comes off a feed from David Pastrnak, who finds Pavel Zacha in front of the net. Pastrnak's pass goes through the legs of Liljegren, and as he spins, Zacha puts the puck into the net.

"On their fourth goal, [I need to] just be more aware," Liljegren said. "I kind of knew he (Zacha) was there, but [I need to] take away the stick and body instead of puck-watching."

Liljegren missed two games last week after getting "jammed up" in Toronto's 4-3 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Feb. 24. He identified the aspects of his game that he needs to work on as "small details."

But how does the defenseman work on that?

"I think it's just be dialled [in]. Obviously, I missed a couple games there. You kind of lose your momentum a little bit," he said. "It's just something I gotta dial it in, in my head, to be hard to play against in D-zone."

Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe was asked about Liljegren's play, saying: "There's no time for anything other than preparing for the next one."

Keefe says that although Liljegren's game has faltered at times, he should still be self-assured of the good in his game.

"We've given him a great opportunity here. One that we thought he was building positive momentum and doing well," Keefe said. "You take a step back or slip a little bit, you just gotta be confident in the good things that you've done."

The Maple Leafs host the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday before heading to Boston later that night for another game against the Bruins on Thursday. It'll be a good test for Liljegren and the whole team to prove that Monday's game isn't who they are.