Just when you thought shades of the Leafs' Game 4 performance would be left in the rearview mirror, they reassured everyone why hope can be a dangerous thing.
After leaving goalie Joseph Woll out to dry in Game 4, Game 5 in Toronto was sure to be a "fun one," right? Nope, with Wednesday night's 6-1 loss to the Florida Panthers, the Leafs are now on the brink of elimination after losing three straight games. The script is repeating itself.
Games 4 and 5 have shown why the Panthers are the reigning champs. They have pretty much dominated in every aspect of these past two games. For what it's worth, Game 6 will be played on Friday night, allowing the Leafs to prove everyone wrong once again and force a Game 7 in Toronto.
For the first time in the second round, Leafs head coach Craig Berube made lineup changes for Game 5 that drew out forwards Pontus Holmberg and Calle Jarnkrok in exchange for forwards David Kampf and Nick Robertson.
Despite getting Toronto’s lone goal, Here's why Holmberg should draw back in for “scratch and score” Robertson for Friday’s game.
Now that Robertson has lived up to his motto of scoring after being scratched once again, he's sure not due for another goal for the rest of the series, right?
Wouldn't put it past him since he did have the 7th most five-on-five goals in the regular season for the Leafs, per MoneyPuck.com, but let's be honest, if Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and John Tavares are having a difficult time finding the back of the net in this series, there's reason to believe the out-sized Robertson will too.
Especially in a series with no space to create and goals coming from in front of a highly contested Florida net, where cross-checks are sure to knock players Robertson's size to the ice.
It's not like Holmberg will come into Game 5's lineup and provide a better scoring touch than Robertson. In fact, I'll tell you he won't, but he does bring more to the table.
What he will bring is stability with his team-best 2.37 expected goals against per 60 minutes in this playoffs. He'll chip pucks deep and retrieve them at a good clip, create cycles with his linemates to keep play in the opponent's zone, and do it well thanks to his ability to protect the puck with his strong stick, one of the reasons why he drew more penalties than any other Leaf this season.
How it Affects the Lineup
Alternatively, if Holmberg draws in for Game 5, I would push Max Domi to Holmberg's wing on the third line while bumping Bobby McMann to the second line for Max Pacioretty.
Although McMann only has one point this playoffs, I would still bump the 20-goal scorer to a line that was one of the Leafs' best during the regular season.
McMann did most of his damage when he was up on the second line this season, playing with Tavares and Nylander. The line generated the Leafs' second-best expected goals per 60 minutes only behind the Matthews line.
Not having McMann on the second line to begin these playoffs was a waste of potential for a line that could've produced for this Leafs team that has needed consistent scoring from a unit.
Hopefully, by dropping Pacioretty to the third line, he and Domi can re-kindle their chemistry from when Domi fed Pacioretty for his series-winning goal in the Battle of Ontario.
By bringing in Holmberg as your third-line center, you give less defensive responsibility to Domi, which can hopefully help untap his offensive game with Pacioretty while also beefing up your top six with a 20-goal scorer that should've had a better chance to succeed when the playoffs first started.