Grading the Toronto Maple Leafs New Shuffled Lineup
The Toronto Maple Leafs season to this point has not seen an extended period of adversity, at least not to the extent that their fans are used to.
So when coach Sheldon Keefe began to reshuffle the forward lines this week in practice, it seemed to be a shock to Leafs Nation. It is clear though, and no secret to anyone following the Toronto Maple Leafs, that this season all entirely hinges on playoff success.
This lineup shuffling is proof that over the second half of the season, Keefe’s main focus will be on preparing this team for an extended post-season run.
Creating a well balanced lineup will be the key to the Leafs competing with the best of the best, and tonight may be the first look at the team’s ideal playoff lineup. (stats naturalstattrick.com).
Grading the Toronto Maple Leafs New Lines
1st line: Bunting – Matthews – Kase
This is the trio that I, personally, have been hoping to get an extended look at once the team came to full health.
Sheldon Keefe tried them together for a game earlier in the season, but this time it seems like they may allow the experiment to develop a bit longer. Bunting and Kase compliment Matthews perfectly, in their style of play, and can open up the ice for Matthews to generate dangerous opportunities.
Bunting was disruptive all night, as he typically has been all season, and even drew a penalty that lead to a goal in the first period. Kase seemed to struggle a bit to find his place on the line in the first period and the line did not look too dangerous.
As the game wore on, Kase began using his speed and tenacious puck retrieval skills and the line was able to create chaos in the Ducks defensive zone. In the second period this resulted in multiple scoring chances and eventually the Ducks got desperate and had to commit a penalty.
The ever dangerous Maple Leafs powerplay then hit the ice and scored for the 3rd time in the game. Look for this line to build on this game, and continue to wreak havoc in the opposition’s zone throughout the rest of the year.
Overall, this line played 12 minutes of 5v5 hockey, with a puck-possession rating of 70% and outshot the Ducks 7-0. This was good for a 77% expected goals rating. They didn’t score, but it’s hard to imagine a better stat line.
Grade A
The 2nd Line
2nd line: Mikheyev – Tavares – Marner
In the first period this line spent very little time in their own zone while generating scoring chances consistently every time they were on the ice.
Marner and Tavares both potted goals on the powerplay and Mikheyev drew a penalty in the first that led to Marner’s powerplay goal. It may be early to declare, but this line could end up being the Toronto Maple Leafs most dangerous unit, despite the fact that Mikheyev, Marner and Tavares made their biggest contributions on special teams.
Tavares looked to regain the spark that seemed to be missing since the team returned from their December break, which will be pivotal for post-season success. (And his OT play where he outmuscled Trevor Zegras almost won the game).
Since Mikheyev has returned from injury the Maple Leafs left side suddenly looks a lot deeper, which allowed Keefe this opportunity to balance the lineup.
And Marner, without Matthews lurking every shift, was balancing his attack more mixing in shooting and passing. Marner has been fantastic since coming of the I.R and has scored in four straight games.
Overall, Marner and Tavares were together for 13 5v5 minutes, splitting that time almost evenly between Mikheyev and Nylander. Perhaps the coach shouldn’t have been so quick to take Mikheyev off the line however: When Mikheyev and Marner were together, the Leafs posted a 90% expected-goals rating.
GRADE: A-
3rd Line
3rd line: Kerfoot – Kampf – Nylander
Another line that spent a bulk of their time in the offensive zone, keeping the opposition on their heels no matter what line Anaheim threw against them.
Aside from a few gaffes from their defensemen getting them hemmed in their own zone, this line rarely found themselves in trouble of conceding a goal. All three used excellent stick checking to frustrate the Ducks in all three zones, and used their speed to push the puck the other way with every turnover.
A line with three excellent two way players, such as this one, could play against any teams top line without coach Keefe having to break a sweat. The success of this line will be imperative to Keefe’s plan, and judging by their performance in this game, I can see this experiment become a permanent fixture. Even though none of their scoring chances ended up in the back of the net, I think Keefe has to be happy with how this line performed.
GRADE: B+
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Despite the fact that the Toronto Maple Leafs left with a win only by a short margin, the score is not indicative of how lopsided the game was. Taking into consideration that this was their first game in this configuration, all three lines looked great together. It will be very interesting to watch the continued growth of chemistry between all of these lines, and how Keefe continues to balance the minutes of his superstars.