Who will sit and who will play against the Bruins? Keefe says those talks are forthcoming
With the Leafs securing home ice Tuesday night after beating Detroit and Auston Matthews hitting the 60-goal mark, Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe may look to sit some of his stars in Friday's regular season finale against the Boston Bruins.
Following practice, Keefe was asked about the possibility of sitting some of his stars, to which he responded that those conversations would be had with players throughout the day on Thursday, ahead of Friday's tilt with the B's.
One player whose name was brought up to Keefe was Mitch Marner. At 97 points and in the pursuit of becoming just the 4th Leaf to hit the 100 point mark, Keefe may be reluctant to rest him Friday. As much as everyone would like to see Marner hit the 100-point season milestone, the safest option is probably to sit him and save him from any abuse the Bruins may try to inflict on him and others. As we all know, the Bruins like to play rough and throw cheap shots after whistles.
Another guy who could get the night off is Morgan Rielly. Rielly has skated in all 81 games this season so having the last game off to get a full weeks rest to heal the bumps and bruises would be highly beneficial for the tough minutes he's about to play against Tampa.
It is possible that Keefe chooses to start Kallgren over Campbell Friday to ensure the Leafs have their number 1 goalie healthy and ready for Game 1 next week. Again, this would be the best idea given Campbell's injury history. Keefe has preached about getting his guys some rest leading into the playoffs and it's nice to see him following through with it while still giving them a shot at achieving personal records. We should know more about who is getting Friday off tomorrow after practice, or during for that matter once line rushes begin.
While it's best that Marner and Campbell both rest, I'd imagine we'll see Marner play to try to reach 100 points. Campbell, on the other hand.. I can see Keefe opting to rest his number 1 after a shutout performance against the Red Wings on Tuesday.
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 27 | 396 ANSWERS Who will sit and who will play against the Bruins? Keefe says those talks are forthcoming Who should the Leafs rest against the Bruins? | ||
| Matthews | 104 | 26.3 % |
| Nylander | 48 | 12.1 % |
| Rielly | 39 | 9.8 % |
| All of the above | 205 | 51.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
