Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins Series Preview
By Josh Tessler
Toronto Maple Leafs Lines
Yesterday, TSN’s Kristen Shilton attended the Toronto Maple Leafs’ practice. Shilton tweeted out the lines from practice.
#Leafs lines at practice:
— Kristen Shilton (@kristen_shilton) April 10, 2018
Hyman-Matthews-Nylander
Marleau-Kadri-Marner
van Riemsdyk-Bozak-Brown
Komarov-Plekanec-Kapanen
Leivo, Martin, Moore, Johnsson
Rielly-Hainsey
Gardiner-Zaitsev
Dermott-Polak
Carrick
Andersen
McElhinney
As you can see, Babcock is truly comfortable with his lines and isn’t looking at making many changes for the start of round one. Even though there aren’t any changes to his lines, there are two items that I’d like to note.
First, Babcock prefers Leo Komarov over Andreas Johnsson for game 1 against Boston. This makes a ton of sense. While Johnsson has shown to be a solid contributor in his first few games in the NHL, Komarov is the best defensive forward that Toronto has. In 74 games this season, Komarov registered 219 hits, 48 blocks and 47 take-aways. It would be a mistake to sit Komarov against one of the best teams in the NHL.
On the defensive side, Babcock prefers Roman Polak over Connor Carrick. I’ve debated whether Polak is a great or terrible fit for the Maple Leafs throughout the year. While I’m still not a huge fan of Polak, I do understand the need for physicality when playing a tough vigorous team like the Bruins.