Bertuzzi bumped down: Leafs give their lines another shakeup

The Toronto Maple Leafs are hitting the refresh button once again.

Ahead of Tuesday’s contest in Washington against the Capitals, the team debuted a fresh set of lines at Monday’s practice.

Most notably, the team shifted around a trio of wingers, putting Calle Jarnkrok on the top line while Tyler Bertuzzi and Matthew Knies fit in on the second and third lines, respectively, each bumped down a line from where they began last game.

Here’s how Toronto’s forward lines are set up, as per David Alter:

• Calle Jarnkrok – Auston Matthews – Mitch Marner
• Tyler Bertuzzi – John Tavares – William Nylander
• Matthew Knies– David Kampf – Max Domi
• Noah Gregor – Pontus Holmberg – Ryan Reaves

Fraser Minten hit the ice as Toronto’s 13th forward after also sitting in a 4-3 overtime win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday.

Toronto’s fourth line actually only had one shift in the third period on Saturday as Toronto pushed back from a 3-1 deficit to enter the third.

“I made the decision to go down to three lines. In fact, I actually thought Holmberg gave the fourth line a lot tonight. I thought those guys were good, but I just sort of lost them with some of the special teams and playing from behind. I got into a three-line rhythm,” Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe explained over the weekend.

Meanwhile, here’s how the defensive pairs shake up, the same as they were on Saturday.

• Morgan Rielly – TJ Brodie
• Jake McCabe – Timothy Liljegren
• Mark Giordano – John Klingberg

It’s a reunion game of sorts with Toronto and former team defenceman Rasmus Sandin, who was traded away from the franchise midway through last season.

“It’s going to be a special one, but it’s going to be a lot of fun, too. Hopefully, we can come out with the win, too,” Sandin told reporters Monday.

Puck drop for the Leafs and Capitals is an early one on Tuesday, as it’s set for 6 pm ET.

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