Maple Leafs Head Coach Craig Berube Makes Puzzling Lineup Decision at Wednesday's Practice
Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube has made some questionable lineup decisions following the team's third consecutive loss on Tuesday against the Dallas Stars.
Ahead of practice Wednesday, defenseman Marshall Rifai was sent down to the Toronto Marlies to free up a roster spot for Jake McCabe who is expected to return following a suspected concussion.
McCabe looks set to return on either Thursday or Saturday, as he skated alongside Chris Tanev at practice. His return saw Simon Benoit skate as an extra on the fourth pairing with the injured Jani Hakanpaa.
Up front, Berube's line changes left much to be desired and left fans scratching their heads. Drawing in for Thursday's game are Max Pacioretty, who skated on the second line with John Tavares and William Nylander and Pontus Holmberg who replaces Ryan Reaves on the fourth line. Connor Dewar was also skating as an extra.
After a very brief experiment with Steven Lorentz on the left wing of the top line with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, Matthew Knies was reunited with the duo while Lorentz was shifted back to the 4th line with Pontus Holmberg and David Kampf.
After struggling for offense over their three-game losing streak, Leafs fans were surprised to see that Berube reverted back to line combinations that have not been working recently.
Berube may be forced into shuffling his lines again ahead of Thursday's game, however, as Tavares left practice after falling awkwardly during a power play drill.
According to Berube, the former first-overall pick was being evaluated, but couldn't provide any further update after practice.
Losing Tavares for a significant period of time would be detrimental to the Leafs, but it would force Berube to finally try different combinations, which is something fans would welcome at this point.
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