Leafs Coaching Staff Appears to Make Important Lineup Decision Against Flyers
The Toronto Maple Leafs will play the second game of a back-to-back tonight against Philadelphia, and they appear to have made an important lineup decision.
Sophomore winger Matthew Knies popped off for the Maple Leafs against the Boston Bruins last night in a 6-4 victory, producing a hat trick and a total of 5 points and a +6 rating.
In addition, Auston Matthews was impressive in his return, potting a goal and 2 assists for 3 points in just 17:32 of ice time as he and the Leafs look to manage his minutes while he continues to work his way back towards full health.
While neither Knies nor Matthews was ever really at risk of sitting tonight against the Flyers, the same couldn't be said about any one of a number of depth players.
The Leafs often prefer to bring in some fresh legs on the second half of a back-to-back, and with Ryan Reaves, Conor Timmins and Pontus Holmberg having sat out recently, some had speculated that we could see some lineup changes against Philadelphia.
Following the morning skate, though, The Hockey News' Nick Barden suggested that the Leafs may be going with the same lineup from last night, leaving the 3 aforementioned players, as well as Jani Hakanpaa (who had been skating in extras grey recently) in the press box tonight.
Appears Toronto could go with the same lineup used in their win against Boston last night."
Boston's Brad Marchand surprisingly spoke high of the Maple Leafs ahead of last night's game, confirming that this year's version of the Leafs has figured out how to play winning hockey, which makes them a much more dangerous team.
Last night's Leafs did not play a perfect game by any stretch of the imagination, but they did persevere where previous iterations of the team may have fallen short.
The Leafs are currently sitting atop the Atlantic Division with a 25-13-2 record totalling 52 points. They lead the Florida Panthers, who are nipping at their heels with 50 points on the season, so a win tonight could create some separation.
