Maple Leafs adjust their forward lines at practice with Auston Matthews unavailable

Toronto is without Auston Matthews at center and Anthony Stolarz in net, both of whom left the Leafs previous game Tuesday against the Boston Bruins due to injuries.

Matthews is expected to miss at least a week with a lower-body injury, with Stolarz out day-to-day, according to Leafs head coach Craig Berube.

As well, Berube noted that Auston Matthews being hit by Nikita Zadorov was not the cause for him leaving against Boston.

With two important pieces in Matthews and Stolarz out, Toronto has adapted their lines ahead of tonight's game against the Los Angeles Kings.

Forwards
Knies - Tavares - Nylander
Robertson - Domi - McMann
Joshua - Roy - Maccelli
Blais - Lorentz - Jarnkrok

Defense
Rielly - Carlo
Benoit - McCabe
Mermis - Ekman-Larsson
Myers

Goaltenders
Hildeby (Starter)
Akhtyamov

The game is the first time that the Marlies duo of Hildeby and Artur Akhtyamov are both on the Toronto Maple Leafs roster with Stolarz out and Woll currently in the minors having the two rookies the options for Toronto in net.

Akhtyamov was recalled from the Marlies earlier today, with Joseph Woll, who potentially would be back up for today, continuing his progress in the minors.

With the unavailability of Matthews, the Leafs have placed John Tavares on the top line next to William Nylander and Matthew Knies, with Max Domi slotting in on the second line with Nick Robertson and Bobby McMann.

The Leafs have not touched their bottom-six or their defense as they have remained consistent in the past few games with their make-up in those regards.

Dennis Hildeby gets the projected start in net tonight, looking for his first NHL win of the season, although he comes in with a respectable .909SV% in three games.

If he appears tonight, it will be the debut of Artur Akhtyamov in the NHL, currently in his second season in North America as a backup or 1B to Hildeby with the Marlies.