Here's what the Leafs lines look like ahead of opening night
NHL games are officially back today, which means it’s time for one of our favourite activities: getting in fights with strangers on the internet about how the Toronto Maple Leafs are deploying their lines.
The Leafs announced their final set of cuts on Monday, which included sending top prospect Nick Robertson down to the Toronto Marlies.
āIt was a tough decision because weāve seen tremendous growth throughout this camp,” Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said earlier this week about sending Robertson down. “And weāre very encouraged about where his game is at and have all the confidence that heāll be back here when needed.ā
Toronto takes on their rival Montreal Canadiens tomorrow night at the Bell Centre, before returning home on Thursday night.
The status of Leafs captain John Tavares seems to be positive, and he told reporters today that he’s “ready to go” after recovering from an oblique injury.
Here’s how the Leafs lines look tomorrow, with Matt Murray making his regular season debut for Toronto, per The Athletic‘s Jonas Siegel:
Forward lines
- Michael Bunting-Auston Matthews-Mitch Marner
- William Nylander-John Tavares-Dennis Malgin
- Pierre Engvall-Ale Kerfoot-Calle JƤrnkrok
- Zach Aston-Reese-David KƤmpf-Nicholas Aube-Kubel
Defensive pairs
- Morgan Rielly-TJ Brodie
- Jake Muzzin-Justin Holl
- Mark Giordano-Rasmus Sandin
Goalies
- Matt Murray
- Ilya Samsonov
The Canadiens’ lines can be viewed here.