Keefe juggles the lineup on Thursday; New look second line highlights key changes
The Leafs continued to tinker with the roster less than 24 hours after placing defenseman Jake Muzzin on LTIR, sending defenders Brennan Menell and Kristians Rubins to the Toronto Marlies and recalling Rasmus Sandin and Kyle Clifford on Thursday.
Those were not the only moves made, as Sheldon Keefe got out his trusty lineup blender ahead of Thursday's game against the Minnesota Wild. The morning skate lineup has a new-look middle six, and a surprising omission on defense.
Alexander Kerfoot has been shifted from second line LW down to third line RW, while Ondrej Kase has been moved up to the 2RW slot. William Nylander will switch sides to the left wing to facilitate this.
This is no doubt in response to the second line's lack of production of late. Moving Kase into that slot adds a chaotic element to the second line, something that Nylander and Tavares can both use to their advantage. It also adds another shooting threat to that second line.
The D pairings are the same as last game, Rielly and Brodie will see the bulk of the available ice time, Sandin will step into Jake Muzzin's shoes in the second pairing beside newcomer Ilya Lyubushkin (who is reportedly back to wearing #46). This will be the pair to watch as both players adjust to new roles.
Dermott and Liljegren make up a very mobile third pair, which means that Justin Holl will spend his second consecutive game in the press box, where he will no doubt opt for extra butter on his popcorn. Kyle Clifford, who was called up from the Marlies on Thursday appears likely to join Holl. No confirmation on whether or not Holl will share his popcorn.
With Menell/Rubins going down and Sandin/Clifford coming up, the Leafs have now eaten into their LTIR cap relief. They currently have a little over $5.2M in available cap space, per CapFriendly.
The puck will drop shortly after 7:00pm ET in Toronto tonight and it appears as though Petr Mrazek will be the starter. Let's hope for a bounce back performance after a poor outing in Montreal on Saturday.
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24 FEVRIER | 286 ANSWERS Keefe juggles the lineup on Thursday; New look second line highlights key changes Who would you like to see the Leafs try to acquire at the deadline? | ||
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