Keefe continues to tinker with his lineup, shuffling forward lines and defensive pairings ahead of Tuesday's game in Pittsburgh
The Leafs don't have to wait long for their retribution against a Pittsburgh Penguins team who rolled into Toronto for Hall of Fame night on Friday and skated away with a 4-2 win over the hometown Buds. On Monday during practice, Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe made a few tweaks to his lineup, which he hopes will give the Leafs the extra little boost they'll need to best the Pens in enemy territory.
After starting the past couple of games on the Leafs' third line, Michael Bunting found himself next to Auston Matthews at practice again today and they were joined by William Nylander. John Tavares was flanked by Alex Kerfoot and Mitch Marner as Keefe continues to keep Marner and Matthews separated. In doing so, Keefe is trying to get the Leafs to produce at 5-on-5 as they have struggled mightily there so far this season.
Recently recalled Pontus Holmberg also drew in at center on the third line while Nick Robertson found himself in a grey "scratches" jersey as he appears to be out of the lineup for tonight. Additionally, Kyle Clifford re-joined the team for practice after having been out for the past few weeks with a shoulder injury. While Clifford skated in a regular jersey, he was skating as the eighth defenseman alongside Mac Hollowell, so it would not appear he will be playing tomorrow.
After a stellar Leafs debut, Jordie Benn found himself taking reps alongside Morgan Rielly as Keefe shuffled up the defensive pairings. Mark Giordano will skate with Justin Holl while the two youngsters Rasmus Sandin and Timothy Liljegren were paired together. Not only did Benn have an excellent debut Saturday night, but when playing together, Liljegren and Sandin actually looked quite good as well.
| POLL | ||
NOVEMBRE 15 | 126 ANSWERS Keefe continues to tinker with his lineup, shuffling forward lines and defensive pairings ahead of Tuesday's game in Pittsburgh Should the Leafs continue to use Rasmus Sandin and Timothy Liljegren as a pairing moving forward? | ||
| Yes | 96 | 76.2 % |
| No | 30 | 23.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
