Auston Matthews shares his feelings on the Leafs' 7D/11F setup over the past couple of weeks
The Leafs have 15 games left in the season with which to iron out as many kinks as possible before the playoffs begin. This year, likely more so than all the others, success is very important. A deep run confirms everything that Kyle Dubas and company have steadfast belief in, which is that this core is capable of winning important games and finding playoff success. Another first round loss confirms that this core and their cap structure is not conducive with winning and at least a partial tear-down with multiple casualties is likely coming this summer.
One of the unique things that the Leafs have been trying of late is the deployment of a 7D/11F roster makeup. The club has experienced mixed results so far, and the fanbase doesn't seem too enthused about Sheldon Keefe clinging to the idea that a 7-11 mix can work. But how do the players feel? On Thursday, following Leafs practice, Auston Matthews told TSN's Mark Masters how he feels about the idea. Matthews certainly doesn't mind the extra shifts, especially in Wednesday's game against Colorado. He also touched on Mitch Marner embracing the extra ice time as well.
"It's, honestly, not bad. You get in a rhythm, get out there a little bit more... Sometimes it works out pretty nice like that." - Matthews on the extra ice time that 7D/11F provides
Matthews also called Marner a "buzzsaw", because of the fact that he just doesn't stop. Marner played a career-high 29:10 in the game against the Avs - nearly half the game. Even captain John Tavares noticed how much gas Marner has had in the tank of late.
"It's extremely impressive. You see it in the energy he has around the group every single day. Just an incredible engine on him. [It's] more and more difficult to process things the more you get tired and fatigued, but he still just has such a good hockey IQ and is able to make plays and have a good understanding of the game under pressure. Yeah, that's not easy to do." - Tavares on Marner's unbelievable stamina
Both Marner and Matthews were given the day off from practice on Thursday to allow them some additional rest and recovery time. They're both expected to continue to rack up the increased ice time on Friday against the Hurricanes, as the Leafs are expected to go with 7 defensemen and 11 forwards once again.
| POLL | ||
MARS 17 | 250 ANSWERS Auston Matthews shares his feelings on the Leafs' 7D/11F setup over the past couple of weeks How do you feel about the Leafs' 7D/11F setup? | ||
| Love it | 42 | 16.8 % |
| Hate it | 71 | 28.4 % |
| Don't care, just win | 137 | 54.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
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