The Toronto Maple Leafs are coming off a big win against the Winnipeg Jets thanks to new line combinations. The Leafs had a new look in this game regarding lines and units. Head coach Craig Berube even changed up the look of their struggling power play.
New Forward Lines at Even Strength
The Maple Leafs have been struggling as of late. Before their Monday night game against the Jets, the Leafs only picked up one point in three games. However, they were able to find their game again against Winnipeg, who went into this game undefeated after eight games. It was a much-needed win for the Maple Leafs as their division is tighter than ever. After the top three teams in the Atlantic Division, there is only a one-point difference between fourth and eighth. This means the division is wide open and has plenty of opportunities for all teams.
Going into this all-Canadian tilt, Berube set out some new forward lines. Toronto’s middle six was put into a blender, and they really shined. The results of the changes were evident both on the stat sheet and in on-ice play. Toronto’s second line was the centrepiece of their offence in this win. The Leafs were led by former captain John Tavares as he recorded his 12th career hat-trick, including the game-winning goal. However, he wasn’t the only one who turned back time with an impressive night. Max Pacioretty had himself a night too. He provided three assists against the Jets, all because of great forechecking and efforts around Connor Hellebuyck‘s crease.
Typically, those two veterans would appear on the third line together, with Nicholas Robertson as the right winger. However, Robertson was listed as a healthy scratch for this game, and Pontus Holmberg slotted in for him on the third line. William Nylander was the right winger beside Tavares and Pacioretty. Nylander has a better ability to create plays than Robertson and they seemed to have complemented each other well.
Splitting Up the Power Play
Toronto’s power play has been struggling this season. They have the fourth-worst power-play percentage at 9.4%. In the first nine games of the season, the Leafs looked harmless on the power play. Zone entries were ineffective and it felt at times that they were lacking chemistry with each other. Passes weren’t connecting and the puck movement was slow and almost purposeless. However, Berube decided to change things up against Winnipeg.
Most teams in the NHL have one power-play unit that is on the ice for 80% of the power play. But, the Leafs tried something new on Monday against the Jets. Their number one power-play unit was split up into two. This is how it looked on Monday:
Unit One:
Knies – Pacioretty – Matthews – Marner – Rielly
Unit Two:
Tavares – McMann – Domi – Nylander – Ekman-Larsson
The new look provided a lot more urgency and they moved the puck at a high tempo. Although, that’s not all that Berube wanted to change. He wanted more pucks to the net and into the crease causing dangerous chances. Therefore, the Leafs did just that. Despite not being able to convert on the man advantage, the power play looked much better and it’s only a matter of time before it gets clicking.
New Defence Pairings
This change isn’t as fresh as the middle-six forward lines and the power-play units. However, it’s still a relatively new change, and that is the defensive pairings, specifically their top-four. In preseason and the first chunk of the season, the pairings were Morgan Rielly with Chris Tanev and Oliver Ekman-Larsson with Jake McCabe. Now it’s Rielly with Ekman-Larsson and Tanev with McCabe.
Since these changes, Rielly has two goals in two straight games. He’s looking to find his offensive side again. It wouldn’t be the first time that Rielly became a force scoring a ton of points. In the 2018-19 season, the 30-year-old scored 72 points, finishing top five in Norris Trophy votes. Since then he has matured immensely. However, he’s never had defence partners like the ones he has now, and that could allow him to blossom again offensively.
Main Photo Credit: Terrence Lee-Imagn Images
