Major development coming out of Leafs practice on Wednesday involving William Nylander
After a full day off on Tuesday, the Toronto Maple Leafs were back on the ice on Wednesday, donning the iconic St. Pats green and white uniforms ahead of Saturday's St. Patrick's Day game. However, before Saturday's event, the Leafs have to roll through Philly to take on the Flyers tomorrow night. Unfortunately for the Buds, they'll be without the services of Mitch Marner against the Flyers, after the team's premier playmaker suffered an injury against the Bruins last week.
Originally, it appeared as though William Nylander would slot in next to Auston Matthews and Tyler Bertuzzi on the top line while Marner was away, but after a tough outing against Montreal over the weekend, Nylander has found himself demoted back down to the 2nd line after Keefe criticized his top line for their poor execution and lack of chemistry. Calle Jarnkrok has drawn the all-important assignment of playing in Marner's spot on the top line.
Bertuzzi-Matthews-JarnkrokDomi-Tavares-NylanderKnies-Kampf-McMannHolmberg-Dewar-ReavesExtra: Gregor, Robertson Absent: Marner (lower-body)
Brodie-McCabeRielly-LyubushkinEdmondson-LiljegrenExtras: Benoit, Giordano, Timmins (LTIR)
In addition to the significant lineup change in the team's top six, the Leafs were also forced to address the hole on the top PP unit with Marner missing. Jarnkrok has drawn that assignment as well, according to Wednesday's line rushes. Jarnkrok joined Auston Matthews, John Tavares, William Nylander and Morgan Rielly for top PP unit reps at practice on Wednesday.
Matthews himself has previously stated that he enjoys playing alongside Jarnkrok, who he believes has one of the best shots on the team. Perhaps there's a method to Keefe's madness here, or maybe Matthews himself made the request to play with Jarnkrok on Thursday. At any rate, the Leafs will look to win their 2nd game in a row after beating the Canadiens 3-2 this past weekend. From there, hopefully they can go on a bit of a run here in an attempt to lock down home ice for round 1 of the playoffs.
| POLL | ||
13 MARS | 433 ANSWERS Major development coming out of Leafs practice on Wednesday involving William Nylander Should the Leafs consider trying Nylander or Marner at center down the home stretch? | ||
| Yes, couldn't hurt | 165 | 38.1 % |
| Nylander yes, Marner no | 181 | 41.8 % |
| Marner yes, Nylander no | 87 | 20.1 % |
| No, we already know it won't work | 0 | 0 % |
| List of polls | ||
