The Toronto Maple Leafs are set to host the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday for their third and final matchup of the season. The Maple Leafs and Hurricanes to this point have split the season series, with the Maple Leafs winning 5-1 in December and the Hurricanes winning the Hall of Fame game in November 5-4.
Leafs coach Craig Berube reveals new-look forward lines
Ahead of the matchup, the Maple Leafs were spotted trying different line combinations during the practice portion of their fan day event. John Tavares remains as the first line centre, but will look to have Easton Cowan and Matias Maccelli on the wings. Easton Cowan will look to get his chance on the top unit as he looks to build momentum heading down the final 13 games of the season.
Cowan has shown some spark to the Maple Leafs top six at times this season, but as the Maple Leafs were in dire need of wins, Berube opted to keep him out of the lineup.
Lines during drills portion of Leafs Fan Day event
— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) March 19, 2026
Maccelli - Tavares - Cowan
Knies - Domi - Nylander
Joshua - Groulx - Robertson
Lorentz - Quillan - Jarnkrok
Myers* - Carlo
McCabe - Stecher
Benoit - Ekman-Larsson
*Rielly (flu) is absent
Woll
Stolarz@TSN_Sports
With Cowan on the top line, we will see William Nylander on the second line, alongside Max Domi and Matthew Knies. Nylander and Knies will look to get their first true shot alongside one another, as Knies has spent a good portion of the season on the third line or up with Auston Matthews.
The Swedish forward has been the Maple Leafs' most consistent forward this campaign; however, he has struggled over the past two games, as he hasn't registered a point. Nylander will play a massive role if the Maple Leafs want any chance of defeating a tough Hurricanes squad.
Defensive group looks to remain the same
The bottom six and the defence core will look to remain the same, and there is no telling who the starting goalie will be in Friday's contest. Morgan Rielly was absent from the fan event, as he was dealing with the flu, which doesn't appear to impact his availability for the contest.
The practice featured Brandon Carlo alongside Philippe Myers, while Jake McCabe was with Troy Stecher, and Simon Benoit alongside Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Rielly will likely take Carlo's spot on the first pair, while he shuffles down to play with McCabe, with Stecher on the third pair with Ekman-Larsson.
The Maple Leafs are set to have a tough weekend ahead of themselves as they play a desperate Ottawa Senators team on Saturday at the Canadian Tire Centre.