Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Jim Hiller is coming under fire for not making the right changes in his lineup because the numbers are starting to get worrisome.
The Battle of Ontario was an intense matchup on Saturday night, but it didn't come with the results that the Maple Leafs wanted. Despite goals from Auston Matthews and Kirill Marchenko, they were unable to come away with the win thanks to a Stephen Halliday game-winner.
It was not the best showing, though the team did find themselves with terrible luck, hitting the post several times including one that bounced off the crossbar, off Linus Ullmark, then bounced again to hit the other post before skirting out of harm's way. There were some bright spots, but overall it was a dismal showing towards the end.
And that may have to do with how Jim Hiller is continuing to build his lineup.
Only half of Toronto's lineup is actually any good
Hiller's been pretty stubborn in his lineup decisions to start the year, and while he has adjusted the lines mid-game, his typical starting rotation has been the same since day one. It wouldn't be an issue if everyone was putting in work, though the numbers tell a tale of two completely different lineups:
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If you had to look at who has been the best so far for Toronto this year, you'd actually see that the first line is getting the best chances. That's genuinely good news, and it shows that adding Kirill Marchenko was a net positive despite losing Matthew Knies - he and Matthews will work well together.
The third line has also been a pleasant surprise, and the addition of Easton Cowan alongside two defensively savvy and tough as nails forwards in Nick Paul and Colton Sissons have been a nuisance to opponents early on, with Cowan being the most impressive Leaf by far.
But then it starts to get really ugly for the Maple Leafs really quickly.
Toronto's second and fourth line need serious attention
That second line, for all its talent - is defensively broken. They gave up 19 shot attempts against the Islanders, and have more than double the shot attempts against than the next leading line (35 to 17).
They're also giving up - no joke - 89.3 shot attempts per 60 minutes. That's atrociously bad, no matter how you try and spin things. It's not feasible for the Maple Leafs to trot them out together, and there needs to be some balance.
Whether that's moving Cowan up, or John Tavares down, or even giving McKenna less of a role to ease him into things slower, a change is needed.
The fourth line can be forgiven for not contributing as much, given they have played nearly eight minutes less together than the Paul-Sissons-Cowan line. They aren't expected to be offensive, and players like Duhaime and Blueger are penalty kill specialists. That line can bring offence, but it isn't their priority.
All eyes are going to be on how Hiller adjusts his lineup for the upcoming slate of games as he can't keep putting the Maple Leafs in dire situations because he refuses to switch things up. It's early enough to tinker, and if he doesn't start doing something soon?
Then it feels like we might have Craig Berube 2.0 - at least when it comes to his lineup management.
Does Jim Hiller need to make changes to Toronto's second line?
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