Craig Berube Urged to Shake Up Forward Lines After Struggles Against Avalanche

Thanks to the efforts of Auston Matthews and Steven Lorentz (not to mention perhaps a bit of an assist from the officials), the Maple Leafs made it two in a row in the win column, as they look forward to making it a hat-trick on Thursday night against the New York Rangers.

Though the team played well, there were a few takeaways that could use some tinkering in order to make things even better, and it involves a key deadline acquisition.

It might behoove the Maple Leafs and Craig Berube to give Scott Laughton a look on the second line with John Tavares and William Nylander, meanwhile Pontus Holmberg heads back to the fourth line.

Holmberg and Laughton are both more defensively minded, though Laughton has a lot more offensive upside in comparison, and the use of his defense, toughness, and relentlessness on the ice could open up a lot of room for Tavares and Nylander offensively.

It's not that Holmberg is necessarily bad, but why not experiment with things?

The playoffs are just around the corner, and what a good a time as any to see if something can work out?

Maybe some late season chemistry is exactly what the team needs to spark something, and better to learn with a dozen games left than Game One of the playoffs.

Toronto doesn't need to completely rearrange things, and the first line of Auston Matthews, Matthew Knies, and Mitch Marner; and the third line of Nick Robertson, Max Domi and Bobby McMann all gel well and have chemistry.

Plus that third line acts as the de facto bottom scoring line (3A) meanwhile their 'fourth line' is run like a high energy and defensive third line instead (3B).

Holmberg has good possession numbers, and he can draw a ton of penalties, and that's a critical trait to possess, especially with limited minutes; if you can handicap the opponent in the least amount of time, it makes things just a bit easier in the long run.

Plus, Laughton just has the offensive advantage with 27 points on the year (11G, 16A) meanwhile Holmberg only has 15 points.

As we've seen with David Kampf recently, offense is starting to matter big-time for Toronto, and they need as much firepower as possible.

Craig Berube should take advantage of a mediocre New York Rangers team and see if Scott Laughton has the chops to hang on the second line.

It could lead to some massive success, though it could blow up in his face. Better now though, than later.