Leafs tweak top power play unit with one major absence

The Toronto Maple Leafs might be on a two-game winning streak early in the season, but it’s not been without a few tweaks.

And in his first week of the regular season with the team, new Leafs coach Craig Berube has been putting his stamp on the roster.

Though Toronto defenceman Morgan Rielly has been quarterbacking the team’s top power-play unit for much of his time in Toronto since his NHL debut 11 years ago, he’s already lost that responsibility under Berube.

Midway through Saturday’s contest, Berube opted to pull Rielly from the top unit for Oliver Ekman-Larsson, a trend that continued at Tuesday’s practice.

“He was always one of those guys that could really sift that puck through and get it through all the time,” Berube said of Ekman-Larsson, per The Hockey News’ Evan Doerfler. “We like that he’s looking to shoot a lot too, which is good. He had a bunch of shots and a bunch of attempts last game.”

Ekman-Larsson took the ice alongside Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, Max Pacioretty, and John Tavares, while the second unit was led by Rielly, along with Nick Robertson, Max Domi, Bobby McMann, and Matthew Knies. William Nylander missed the practice due to an illness, per the team, though he would likely slot in place of Pacioretty should he be ready for tomorrow’s contest against the Los Angeles Kings.

Ekman-Larsson is also embracing the opportunity with his new team.

“Obviously, we work on it. Trying to score every chance we get. But sometimes simplifying it a little bit. I think you’re trying to look for that next play instead of maybe, like I said, get it to the net and kind of create some rebounds and stuff like that,” Ekman-Larsson added. “I think that’s just going back to the basics and shooting the puck a little bit more.”

The Leafs hit the ice tomorrow against the Kings, with puck drop set for 7 pm ET.

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