Leafs make one key lineup change to help better balance the team
Auston Matthews and William Nylander stole the show for the second straight game, combining for 5 goals on Saturday night, en route to a 7-4 win over the Minnesota Wild. While two of his top stars are flourishing in the early going this season, Sheldon Keefe has noticed a couple of inefficiencies that he felt needed addressing in their 2nd game of the season.
Sheldon Keefe made a subtle lineup change that not many noticed during the win over Minnesota. Keefe flipped Max Domi and Calle Jarnkrok about midway through the game, placing Domi with rookies Fraser Minten and Matthew Knies, while Jarnkrok moved up to skate with John Tavares and William Nylander.
In his post-game press conference, Sheldon Keefe commented on the changes that he felt had helped better balance the lines.
"I thought the Tavares-Nylander line could use more defensive help. I thought that the Minten and Knies line could use a little more offensive push, punch, and playmaking. I just decided to make that switch. I thought it worked well. I thought both guys � Jarny and Max � kind of had their best periods of the six-plus that we have played here. That was good. Jarny scored us a huge goal. That was encouraging." - Keefe on an in-game line combination shake up
The line of Domi, Knies and Minten looked very good together once Sheldon Keefe made the change. They had entire shifts that were spent cycling and creating chances in the Minnesota zone with Minten almost scoring his first career goal on a great puck recovery from Domi and Knies. The subtle change that Keefe made also shows that Knies and Minten have earned his trust defensively, meaning that Keefe can give them a little more leash to open up a bit on offense.
With the Leafs back at it on Monday when Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks come to town, it will be interesting to see if Keefe continues with the new lines or if it was simply an adjustment made during that individual game.
| POLL | ||
OCTOBRE 15 | 76 ANSWERS Leafs make one key lineup change to help better balance the team Who is the better fit on that third line with Fraser Minten and Matthew Knies? | ||
| Calle Jarnkrok | 16 | 21.1 % |
| Max Domi | 36 | 47.4 % |
| I still think Knies should be in the top 6 | 24 | 31.6 % |
| List of polls | ||
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