Two forwards appear to be in Sheldon Keefe's doghouse, scratched yet again
The Toronto Maple Leafs are one of the hottest teams in hockey right now. They are currently on a three game win streak and have not lost a game in regulation since November 11th (6-0-2 since then). Tonight, they head into Detroit for the fourth and final game of their current road trip. Head Coach Sheldon Keefe is electing to go with the same forward lines that won Saturday in Pittsburgh.
With that said, this means veteran tough guy Wayne Simmonds will be a healthy scratch again tonight. Simmonds has only appeared in five games for the Maple Leafs this season. The trend we have seen is Simmonds tends to draw in for more physical opponents (Boston, Minnesota, Winnipeg). Given the Red Wings only have one fighting major so far this season, perhaps it is not surprising Simmonds will watch from the press box tonight.
In addition to Simmonds, Nick Robertson will also sit tonight. The 21-year-old has been a healthy scratch in six of the team's last seven games, which begs the question; should the Leafs send Robertson down to the Toronto Marlies to help continue to develop his game? Right now, it feels as though it will take an injury or the team falling into a slump for Robertson to get back into the lineup. Conventional logic would suggest sending him to the minors, where he will play regularly, is better for the player's development than watching from the press box.
In eleven games so far this season, Robertson has recorded two goals and three assists. That said, he has not scored a goal since his season debut, when he scored two (including the overtime winner) against the Dallas Stars. However, when he has drawn in, he has mostly been playing in the team's bottom six, with the odd game in the top six, seeing less offensive minutes and less overall ice time.
