Have the Leafs found a premier shutdown pairing in Rasmus Sandin and Ilya Lyubushkin?
It's still early in their tenure together, but all signs are pointing towards young Swedish defender Rasmus Sandin and "The Russian Bear", Ilya Lyubushkin, being a top notch pair for the Buds. If you're looking for something to substantiate such a bold statement after only a few games together, you need look no further than the Leafs' 10-7 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday night.
After playing a solid two periods of hockey on the road, taking a 7-2 lead into the third period against the Wings, the wheels fell off for the Leafs in net in the third period, as neither Jack Campbell, nor Petr Mrazek appeared to be able to make a save as Leafs Nation sat back and watched a 5-goal lead evaporate over the span of just a few minutes.
Campbell was given the hook after allowing 3 goals in rapid succession in the third period, giving the Red Wings some life and cutting the lead to just 2 goals with the Buds in front 7-5. Things didn't get much better with Mrazek coming in after the 29-year-old surrendered a quick one to cut the lead to 7-6. The Leafs never did lose the lead throughout the game, but I don't think anyone was overly thrilled about a 10-7 victory against a non-playoff team.
So how does the Sandin/Lyubushkin pair factor into all of this? Well, in a game where the Leafs allowed 7 goals, the team did not surrender a single goal while the pair were on the ice together.
Sandin and Lyubushkin played 15:33 together in the contest, so it's not as though we're talking about a small sample size here. The pair was on the ice together for a quarter of the game and did not allow a goal against during their time together.
Opinion: I'd really like to see Sheldon Keefe reunite the Reilly/Brodie pairing on Monday against the Capitals and shift Sandin up to the second pair with Lyubushkin, with Dermott/Liljegren holding down the third pair. The idea here is to increase the responsibility for Sandin and Lyubushkin against some more dangerous competition in Washington just to see whether or not Saturday was a fluke.
Ultimately, I'd still like to see the Leafs go out and get another blueliner at or ahead of the deadline, but I'm not sure I'd split up Sandin and Lyubushkin at this point. They're showing great chemistry early and could end up being a key pairing for the Buds in the playoffs, where shutting down the opposition matters even more.
| POLL | ||
27 FEVRIER | 508 ANSWERS Have the Leafs found a premier shutdown pairing in Rasmus Sandin and Ilya Lyubushkin? How impressed have you been with Ilya Lyubushkin so far? | ||
| He comes as advertised | 317 | 62.4 % |
| I expected better from him | 54 | 10.6 % |
| He's better than I expected | 137 | 27 % |
| List of polls | ||
