Maple Leafs Make Significant Change at Practice Ahead of Meeting with Red Wings
The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced some significant changes to their struggling power play units ahead of Saturday's clash with the Red Wings.
The Maple Leafs have plenty to celebrate in the 2024-25 season so far, as the team sits atop the Atlantic Division.
However, Leafs head coach Craig Berube, who recently came to the defense of captain Auston Matthews, knows there's always room for improvement.
Berube looks to be ending his recent experiment with five forwards on the power play, and has instead gone back to more typical man-advantage line combinations with four forwards and one defenseman, as well as the standard three and two.
The PP1 line in practice on Friday was composed of Morgan Reilly, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, Auston Matthews, and John Tavares.
PP2 featured two defensemen in Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Conor Timmins, with forwards Max Domi, Max Pacioretty, and Matthew Knies rounding out the second group.
The Maple Leafs, who recently lost a defenseman on waivers to the Utah Hockey Club, have scored just once with the man advantage over the last four games with 10 attempts in total.
It can be tough to pick at faults when your team is playing so well, but Berube knows his chances at a deep run in the post-season drop when the team isn't clicking on the power play, and the Maple Leafs have failed to find consistency in that area all season long.
For a team that boasts the type of talent the Maple Leafs possess, they should not be struggling on the power play as much as they do. This is something they'll want to figure out long before the playoffs begin.
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 14 | 1414 ANSWERS Maple Leafs Make Significant Change at Practice Ahead of Meeting with Red Wings Do you agree with Craig Berube that it was time to drop the five forwards experiment on the power play? | ||
| Yes | 1165 | 82.4 % |
| No | 134 | 9.5 % |
| Not sure | 115 | 8.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
