Insider believes Keefe is making the right lineup decision ahead of Game 5
Michael Bunting's 3-game suspension for his illegal check to the head of Erik Cernak has officially ended and he rejoined the Leafs at practice yesterday for what many believed would be his return in Game 5. However, Sheldon Keefe announced after practice that Bunting would not drawing into the lineup for Game 5 after the Leafs won the previous 3 games without him.
After that news was announced the Toronto media took hold of it and everyone offered their opinions on Keefe's decision. On The Real Kyper and Bourne show yesterday, Nick Kypreos and Justin Bourne both agreed that Bunting should not be in the Game 5 lineup. Bourne stated that his reason was due to the fact the current forward group has won the last 3 games without him and there is no need to mess with something that is working. A pretty reasonable take. Bourne also said that Bunting just doesn't help much in the defensive zone, when looking at the underlying numbers. "He has no involvement in the d-zone. He doesn't block passes, block shots, break up lanes. In the o-zone he gets touches, he makes plays. That fourth line, they go over the boards in the d-zone and they get the team going in the other way. He isn't a puzzle piece that fits in the fourth line...Tougher to find your way in when they're liking Matthew Knies this much."
Kypreos on the other hand said, "Calle Jarnkrok or Zach Aston-Reese out. Those are his only two options. You have to think about, if Bunting comes in, where and how would he play. Do you give him Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner? Or do you stick him on the bottom two lines and spot-duty him. For any player to succeed you need to have a coach that puts you in the best situation to be successful and I'm not sure one exists right now."
The consensus among fans and Toronto media is that Bunting should not be in the lineup until the Leafs lose a game or even just hold him out until and if the Leafs make it to the second round. That's simply because everyone knows Tampa will be going after him during every stoppage knowing he isn't exactly liked by officals and Tampa will likely get a powerplay from it.
