Maple Leafs Confirm Changes to the Line Combinations Following Tavares Injury
With John Tavares unavailable to play on Thursday against the New Jersey Devils, Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube was forced to shuffle the forward lines.
At practice on Wednesday, Berube turned to the old adage 'what's old is new again l' when shuffling his lines, reuniting Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and Matthew Knies on the top line with Max Pacioretty joining John Tavares and William Nylander on the second line once again.
Unfortunately, near the end of practice, Tavares fell awkwardly after bumping skates with Chris Tanev, injuring his leg in the process.
Ahead of the morning skate on Thursday, the Leafs announced that Tavares is officially out week-to-week and placed him on injured reserve.
In a corresponding move, the Leafs recalled Fraser Minten from the Marlies and many expected him to immediately slot into the lineup. However, fans will have to wait at least one game as Minten won't be drawing in to replace the injured Tavares.
Instead, Max Domi will move up to the second line between Nylander and Pacioretty while Pontus Holmberg will skate in Domi's spot on the third line between Nicholas Robertson and Bobby McMann.
Although fans were looking forward to seeing Minten in the lineup, the hope now is that Domi, along with Nylander and Pacioretty are able to finally generate some offense after enduring long stretches of less-than-mediocre play in recent weeks.
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JANVIER 16 | 807 ANSWERS Maple Leafs Confirm Changes to the Line Combinations Following Tavares Injury Should Fraser Minten have drawn into the lineup despite not practicing? | ||
