Maple Leafs Reveal Line Combinations Against Washington Captials
Amid a number of injuries, the Leafs have made some changes to their lineup ahead of their Friday night game against the Washington Captials.
Although Craig Berube confirmed that three injured Leafs are close to a return, the club will play without Max Domi, Jake McCabe and Max Pacioretty on Friday.
Domi, along with Pacioretty and McCabe, were full participants in Friday's morning skate but are still not cleared to return.
The Leafs have already been without Domi and Pacioretty for some time, but with McCabe missing his third game in a row, Philippe Myers will draw into his spot and skate with Morgan Rielly.
McCabe's usual partner, Chris Tanev, has been paired with Oliver Ekman-Larsson, while Simon Benoit and Conor Timmins round out the blueline.
Up front, Craig Berube has reunited Mitch Marner, Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies on the top line after the trio rediscovered their magic on Wednesday against Nashville. Meanwhile, Pontus Holmberg gets an opportunity with John Tavares and William Nylander.
Fraser Minten continues to anchor the third line with Nick Robertson and Steven Lorentz, while Nikita Grebenkin finds himself on the fourth line with Connor Dewar and Ryan Reaves.
Between the pipes it appears Anthony Stolarz will get the nod, giving Joseph Woll the night off and the likely start on Saturday against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
With the Leafs expecting Domi and McCabe back very soon, Friday's game may be the last opportunity for the likes of Grebenkin, and possibly Minten, to prove they deserve a permanent spot on the roster and force the Leafs into some difficult roster decisions.
| POLL | ||
6 DECEMBRE | 2407 ANSWERS Maple Leafs Reveal Line Combinations Against Washington Captials Has Minten done enough to earn a full-time roster spot? | ||
| Yes | 1556 | 64.6 % |
| No | 314 | 13 % |
| So far so good | 537 | 22.3 % |
| List of polls | ||
