Leafs shuffle the forward lines after loss to Blackhawks
After a disappointing effort on Monday against the Chicago Blackhawks, Sheldon Keefe is shuffling the deck a little bit with the forward group. The Leafs only managed one goal against the Connor Bedard lottery winners, so making a change now seems like the right decision. The new lines were revealed at Leafs practice today.
While the top line of Bertuzzi-Matthews-Marner remains unchanged, Noah Gregor skated in Bertuzzi's place today while Bertuzzi took a maintenance day. After trying both Domi and Jarnkrok in the 2LW slot, Keefe has promoted Matthew Knies to the second line. Fraser Minten still centers the third line, with Domi on the left and Jarnkrok on the right. Simon Benoit skated in Gregor's place on an unchanged 4th line with Kampf and Reaves.
When all is said and done and Bertuzzi is back on the ice, the lines appear to be:
Bertuzzi - Matthews - Marner
Knies - Tavares - Nylander
Domi - Minten - Jarnkrok
Gregor - Kampf - Reaves
I like these lines a little bit better than what we've seen this season. Having Knies and Minten together was great for the kid line vibes, but both players could use more veterans around them on the ice. Knies, we know, works well with Tavares, as he assisted on the Leafs captain's series winning goal against Tampa in last season's playoffs. This early in the season, everything is still fluid, but I wouldn't mind seeing these lines stay together for a little while.
| POLL | ||
OCTOBRE 18 | 116 ANSWERS Leafs shuffle the forward lines after loss to Blackhawks Who should play the left side with Tavares and Nylander? | ||
| Domi | 18 | 15.5 % |
| Jarnkrok | 4 | 3.4 % |
| Knies | 64 | 55.2 % |
| Try Bertuzzi there | 30 | 25.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
