Toronto Maple Leafs change up lines with a playoff debut on the way
The Toronto Maple Leafs are hoping to push things to the Max for Game 3 against the Ottawa Senators.
Two days after Max Domi scored the team’s overtime-winning goal to give Toronto a 2-0 lead in their first-round series against their provincial rival, Max Pacioretty appears set to make his Leafs playoff debut.
As per the Hockey News’ David Alter, Pacioretty will be taking Nick Robertson out of the lineup, and slotting in on the third line next to Domi and Bobby McMann.
It’ll be Pacioretty’s first game since February 8, after missing over two months due to injury. Though he’s played 37 games for the team in the regular season, it’ll be a strange sight for Montreal Canadiens fans, who knew Pacioretty well as a former team captain and a member of the team from 2008 to 2018.
Here’s how Toronto is set to line up tonight, per Alter:
- Matthew Knies-Auston Matthews-Mitch Marner
- Pontus Holmberg-John Tavares-William Nylander
- Max Pacioretty-Max Domi–Bobby McMann
- Steven Lorentz-Scott Laughton-Calle Jarnkrok
On the backend, they’ll be running the following pairs:
- Jake McCabe – Chris Tanev
- Morgan Rielly – Brandon Carlo
- Simon Benoit – Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Anthony Stolarz is projected to get his third consecutive playoff start in goal, with Joseph Woll as backup.
The move to Pacioretty marks a slight departure from head coach Craig Berube’s comments on Wednesday, when he suggested the team would “probably” stick with the same lineup for Game 3 but remained open to experimentation.
“We are still thinking about things and what we can do to improve. We will see. I haven’t made up my mind on that.”
Remaining Maple Leafs Round 1 schedule
Game 3:Â Toronto at Ottawa, Thursday, April 24, 7 p.m. EDT
Game 4:Â Toronto at Ottawa, Saturday, April 26, 7 p.m. EDT
Game 5:Â Ottawa at Toronto, Tuesday, April 29, TBD*
Game 6:Â Toronto at Ottawa, Thursday, May 1, TBD*
Game 7:Â Ottawa at Toronto, Saturday, May 3, TBD*
*if necessary
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