Projected Leafs lineup ahead of Saturday's tilt in Colorado
After a crushing defeat to the Arizona Coyotes that culminated from a 4-goal third period outburst by the hosts, Sheldon Keefe didn't push the panic button on his team as he has kept the same lineup going into their road affair with the Colorado Avalanche tomorrow night.
Auston Matthews remains the top-line pivot with William Nylander and Michael Bunting on his wings. John Tavares mans the second line with Mitch Marner and Calle Jarnkrok as they continue to excel and build chemistry. Alexander Kerfoot and Pierre Engvall return as David Kampf's wingers, while Zach Aston-Reese, Dryden Hunt, and Pontus Holmberg fill out the remaining slots on the team's 4th line. Hunt remains in the lineup ahead of Joey Anderson and Wayne Simmonds after he delivered 6 hits, drew a penalty and dropped the gloves with Jack McBain. Impressive debut for the 27-year-old.
On defense, Rasmus Sandin remained an extra skater, along with Jordie Benn, which means that Mark Giordano and Justin Holl, Morgan Rielly and Timothy Liljegren, T.J Brodie with Conor Timmins will be the likely D pairs in Denver.
The Maple Leafs are 7-3-0 in their last 10 games as they are set to face-off against the defending Stanley Cup champions who remain without the services of Gabriel Landeskog, Valeri Nichushkin, Josh Manson, Bowen Byram and potentially even Nathan MacKinnon, who is inching closer to a return.
