The Toronto Maple Leafs head west to take on the Vegas Golden Knights in their first stop on the West Coast trip.
Toronto heads into the game tonight looking to build off of their exciting come from behind win on Tuesday night against the Nashville Predators. It was a great game for most of the new players, including Gavin McKenna, who scored his first point and goal. The hope is that it will continue over tonight, and they can pick up their third win of the season.
With that, let's look at some of the lineup changes that were made by Jim Hiller.
Maple Leafs projected lineup
Kirill Marchenko -- Auston Matthews -- Jack Roslovic
Easton Cowan -- John Tavares -- William Nylander
Gavin McKenna -- Nick Paul -- Colton Sissons
Brandon Duhaime -- Teddy Blueger -- Bo Groulx
Morgan Rielly -- Darren Raddysh
Jake McCabe -- Chris Tanev
Oliver Ekman-Larsson -- Troy Stecher
Sergei Bobrovsky
Anthony Stolarz
Scratched: Zack MacEwen, Nick Blankenburg
Injured: Dakota Joshua (core), Max Domi (undisclosed)
Golden Knights projected lineup
Ivan Barbashev -- Jack Eichel -- Mark Stone
Brett Howden -- William Karlsson -- Mitch Marner
Trevor Connelly -- Tomas Hertl -- Raphael Lavoie
Marc Gatcomb -- Nic Dowd -- Braeden Bowman
Shea Theodore -- Brayden McNabb
Parker Wotherspoon -- Rasmus Andersson
Jeremy Lauzon -- Noah Hanifin
Adin Hill
Carter Hart
Scratched: Dylan Coghlan
Injured: Victor Olofsson (undisclosed)
Maple Leafs swap McKenna & Cowan
The biggest change made by the Maple Leafs was swapping the aforementioned McKenna for Easton Cowan. The move is rather interesting considering just how well he played last game, but the same can be said for Cowan, who has had a start to the season.
Honestly, there is an argument both ways for the move. McKenna is still trying to find his footing in the NHL, and putting him on the third line does make him the primary scorer. Which could be nice for him, especially considering that both Nick Paul and Colton Sissons can worry about the defensive side of the puck.
As for Cowan, he can make the most of this opportunity. Obviously, he has played with John Tavares and William Nylander before, so he knows what to expect. There is also a path where he may be able to continue to climb the depth chart further and get shifts with Auston Matthews and either Jack Roslovic or Kirill Marchenko on the top line. Especially without Matthew Knies on the team, there could be a role that Cowan can help fill if he makes the most of this chance.
That said, there also could be a world where Hiller gives McKenna a few shifts with the top-six tonight. This lineup decision could simply be due to it being his first road trip of the season, and when you consider the teams they are playing, it will be even harder. So, this lineup change may simply just be to shelter McKenna as he finds his footing in the NHL at just 18. Nevertheless, he scored a goal and picked up an assist the other night, and that may be enough to allow him to relax and be more confident in himself and continue to produce.
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