Keefe shakes up lines in a big way ahead of Thursday's game in San Jose
The Leafs were decidedly outperformed Monday night in Vegas. They were dominated from start to finish and couldn't really generate much. When they did, they couldn't capitalize and the game would have been much worse than 3-1 had it not been for a spectacular 30-save performance by Ilya Samsonov (4-1-0).
After an off day yesterday, the Leafs took to the ice for practice in San Jose where Keefe unveiled a handful of line changes to the forward group. The biggest change sees Michael Bunting move to the third line with Calle Jarnkrok and Denis Malgin, who draws back in after being a healthy scratch in three consecutive games. It would seem as though Keefe is attempting to create a little bit more offense with this third line, which is needed considering the fact that the Leafs have struggled to generate scoring throughout the lineup this season.
In addition, Alexander Kerfoot has found himself promoted to the first line, alongside Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner in the hopes that a shakeup will help Matthews finally find the back of the net.
Zach Aston-Reese also draws back into the lineup in a fourth line role, alongside David Kampf and Pierre Engvall, which means Wayne Simmonds comes out. It's likely a rest for Simmonds ahead of the back-to-back against more physical teams in LA and Anaheim over the weekend. Unless Keefe has second thoughts after sleeping on it, these are the lines we should expect to see during the game against San Jose on Thursday. If they aren't clicking after the first 20 minutes, it wouldn't be surprising to see Keefe tinkering as the game goes on as this new-look Leafs team searches for its best combinations.
| POLL | ||
OCTOBRE 26 | 410 ANSWERS Keefe shakes up lines in a big way ahead of Thursday's game in San Jose What's the biggest surprise among Keefe's roster changes? | ||
| Kallgren starting in San Jose | 117 | 28.5 % |
| Bunting down to line 3 | 137 | 33.4 % |
| Kerfoot up to line 1 | 92 | 22.4 % |
| Denis Malgin coming back in | 64 | 15.6 % |
| List of polls | ||
