Leafs unveil revamped forward lineup with Matthews out
Auston Matthews has been labelled a menace to society. A volatile, violent offender and an enemy of the state. Ok, that may be a little dramatic, but he has been banned for 2 games for assaulting, er, cross checking Rasmus Dahlin at the Heritage Classic. We won't get into the fact that everyone EXCEPT Matthews has received just a fine for the same infraction.
While Matthews serves out his sentence, the Leafs will have to soldier on without their undisputed best player. This means the lineup will go into a bit of a blender, we saw the results of that at Leafs practice this morning.
Bunting � Tavares � Marner
Robertson � Kerfoot � Nylander
Mikheyev � Kampf � Engvall
Clifford � Spezza � Kase
John Tavares will slot into Matthews' spot with Marner and Bunting. The Leafs captain had his best season with Marner on his wing, so they should have no issues finding chemistry together.
The second line will be very interesting. The speedy Alex Kerfoot will centre William Nylander and rookie Nick Robertson. Both Nylander and Robertson have fantastic shots, and Kerfoot is an excellent passer. Look for lots of pace and a dangerous transition game when this line is on the ice.
The third line remains unchanged. Keefe knows not to fix what's not broken. Engvall, Kampf and Mikheyev have become a very effective shut down line, no need to mess with a good thing there.
Spezza, Clifford and Kase will fill out the 4th line. Kase will likely swap spots with Robertson depending on the situation in game. Kase in defensive situations and Robertson in offensive ones. Having flexibility in the lineup will be key while Matthews is out.
The Leafs will roll out their new lines tonight at 7 against the Dallas Stars.
| POLL | ||
MARS 15 | 219 ANSWERS Leafs unveil revamped forward lineup with Matthews out Will the Leafs be able to win without Matthews in the lineup? | ||
| Absolutely | 122 | 55.7 % |
| Not a chance | 15 | 6.8 % |
| Only if the rest of the team elevates their game | 82 | 37.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
