For the third time in the first round of this postseason, the Toronto Maple Leafs will have the chance to close out their opening-round series with the Ottawa Senators.
The Leafs have been unable to deal the final death blow to the Sens after racking up a 3-0 series lead. Now, the Leafs will need to go into the Canadian Tire Centre to face an emboldened Ottawa team that believes they can force a Game 7.
Toronto is coming off a 4-0 blanking in Game 5, by far their worst performance of this postseason. The game was much closer than the final score indicated. Regardless, the Sens forced a Game 6, and so, here we are.
The Leafs enter Game 6 still holding the high ground. A solid effort will lead them to victory. But the Senators will surely attempt to overwhelm the Leafs like they did in the third period of Game 4. The Senators jumped out to a 2-0 lead. But the Leafs held on and got one back before heading into the first intermission.
While the Leafs ultimately lost Game 4 on an unlucky bounce, they were able to hang tight with the Sens for the entire night.
That wasn’t the case in Game 5.
So, the Leafs will need to be ready to hold the Sens back. The Senators have shown to run out of steam down the stretch. As a result, Toronto will need to be smart about managing the game and controlling the pace as much as possible.
A win on Thursday night will set up a clash between the Leafs and the Florida Panthers. The Panthers dispatched the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday night, sending them packing for the summer in five games.
The onus is now on the Leafs to become the last Eastern Conference team to punch their ticket to the second after as Carolina, Washington, and Florida have already gotten theirs.
Looking at changes to the Toronto Maple Leafs’ lineup for Game 6
Craig Berube has reportedly made changes to the lineup for Game 6, looking to shake things up after the listless offensive performance from Game 5.
The top line remains the same with Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and Matthew Knies leading the charge.
The changes begin with the second line. Max Pacioretty jumps to the second unit with John Tavares and William Nylander. That change also impacts what figures to be the fourth line, consisting of Bobby McMann, Pontus Holmberg and Max Domi.
The third line, which had been the fourth line for some time in this series, looks to be Steven Lorentz, Scott Laughton, and Calle Jarnkrok. As I’ve said before, keep an eye on this line as it could be somewhat of an X-factor as the Senators will try hard to prevent Matthews and Marner to be their executioners.
On defense, there don’t appear to be any changes. Likewise, Anthony Stolarz figures to get the start. In my estimation, questions may soon arise regarding how much longer Stolarz can go before fatigue starts to set in. Thus far, there isn’t any indication that’s the case, but we shall see.
Overall, the lineup doesn’t look substantially different. It’s just a matter of shuffling things around a little. But I wouldn’t be surprised if Berube continues the musical chairs if things aren’t working.