Leafs announce significant lineup changes ahead of clash with Oilers
After starting 2024 with 4 straight wins against the 3 California-based teams, the Toronto Maple Leafs have now dropped 3 consecutive games against the New York Islanders, Colorado Avalanche and Detroit Red Wings. What's worse is that the team had the lead in all 3 games.
Sheldon Keefe is taking no chances against the Oilers tonight, swapping up the lines in an attempt to help the Leafs break out of their current slump and get back into the win column against one of the hottest teams in the NHL right now.
This is the 2nd straight game where Keefe has shuffled the deck and made major lineup changes among the forward groups. One of those changes appears to be sticking, as Pontus Holmberg remains on Auston Matthews' wing on Tuesday. Mitch Marner, who skated on the team's 3rd line on Sunday, is back up with Matthews on the flank opposite Holmberg.
The second line also received a bit of TLC, with Keefe dropping the struggling Tyler Bertuzzi out of the top six, replacing him with rookie Matthew Knies, who spent the last game on the 4th line after a rough outing against Colorado on Saturday. Bertuzzi will join Max Domi and Calle Jarnkrok on the team's third line. That one has some real potential to become a solid energy line for the Buds.
The 4th line has not been good this season, so it's surprising to see Keefe reunite the trio of Noah Gregor, David Kampf and Bobby McMann, however, that's exactly what he did at practice on Tuesday. McMann has played fairly well, but Gregor and Kampf have left a lot to be desired in recent weeks and offer very little in the way of offense. McMann has been a forechecking machine and does possess a lethal shot, so perhaps the hope there is just to try to hem the opposition in and allow McMann to get a shot off to either score a goal or draw an offensive zone faceoff for the big guns.
The team's D corps remains unchanged, with Rielly skating next to longtime partner T.J. Brodie on the top pair, Jake McCabe matched up with rising star Simon Benoit on the 2nd pair, with veteran Mark Giordano and youngster Timothy Liljegren rounding out the group on the 3rd pair.
Knies-Tavares-Nylander
Bertuzzi-Domi-Jarnkrok
McMann-Kampf-Gregor
Rielly-Brodie
Benoit-McCabe
Giordano-Liljegren
The Oilers are the best team in the NHL over their most recent 10-game stretch, going 10-0-0 over that span, while the Leafs own a very mediocre 4-4-2 record of their last 10.
| POLL | ||
JANVIER 16 | 1229 ANSWERS Leafs announce significant lineup changes ahead of clash with Oilers Who is Canada's best hope at winning a Stanley Cup in 2023-24? | ||
| Toronto | 161 | 13.1 % |
| Edmonton | 280 | 22.8 % |
| Winnipeg | 425 | 34.6 % |
| Vancouver | 363 | 29.5 % |
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