Maple Leafs head coach Jim Hiller made a bold decision at practice on Friday ahead of the Battle of Ontario vs. Ottawa, but it's all part of his plan.
After a tough 3-2 loss against the Montreal Canadiens to open up the season, the Maple Leafs came back strong with a 2-1 win against the New York Islanders. While we're still waiting for Gavin McKenna's first point, it's been the Easton Cowan show thus far, leading the team in scoring.
They face Ottawa on Saturday night in a game that is destined to be heated and intense, as the Battle of Ontario typically is. Without Brady Tkachuk the Senators look a lot different, and they are going to need to try and stifle the powerful Maple Leafs lineup that is starting to slowly gel.
Maple Leafs keep same lineup that brought them a win vs. New York
So how would Jim Hiller make sure his lineup is ready for a second straight win? Cowan seems likely for a leap, which is why what Hiller did on Friday was so bold - he didn't do anything.
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Hiller decided that the lines on Wednesday against the Islanders were successful enough to run with yet again vs. Ottawa and while there is a lot of hope for the team, there are some issues with that current lineup going forward.
The only difference is that Sergei Bobrovsky is going to be starting in place on Anthony Stolarz, but given that there were two days in-between games and he's the dedicated #1 starter - it was pretty much a foregone conclusion.
It'll be another test for the top line as Kirill Marchenko finds his footing in Toronto, and finally took part in his first practice on Friday and looked hungry as ever to get back to business:
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But there is one line that is drawing a lot of attention that might need Hiller's soon enough.
Toronto's second line needs a serious overhaul
The McKenna - Tavares - Nylander line is certainly not short on talent but they are short on results. They only generated three shot attempts against New York meanwhile giving up a staggering 19 attempts. They only had one real scoring chance, and it was up to the bottom-six to carry the load.
It's a defensively inept lineup, and that's not a slight but you can't ask an 18-year-old rookie, a 35-year-old aging slower veteran, and a superstar who only puts in effort when he feels like it to do...anything of note in their own end. They have a hard time getting the puck and when they do, they lose it.
There is a world where spreading things out could benefit Toronto, such as moving Nylander down to the third line with Cowan and Nick Paul. He already has chemistry with Cowan, and both he and Paul can cover for his defensive shortcomings.
It feels weird to move a 40-goal scorer down the lineup, but if they continue to roll with that group they are going to get exploited time after time, and it's unfair to put those three in a position to fail.
So it may be time to for Hiller to actually make a bold decision and split up that second line that had so much promise, but has yet to really flourish early on.
Do you think the Maple Leafs need to make a lineup change?
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Kirill Marchenko had a serious ultimatum for the Maple Leafs before ever playing a game