Maple Leafs Make First Surprise Lineup Change of the Season Ahead of Kraken Game

With the team looking to make it a third straight win at home against Seattle, the Toronto Maple Leafs are shaking things up a little bit.

Yesterday's practice saw Auston Matthews absent for a rest day, with Calle Jarnkrok taking his place while we also saw the return of Steven Lorentz after a three game absence.

His placement back in the lineup will certainly bring the team together as Lorentz seems to be part of the glue that keeps everything attached, but with his return and Matthews coming back, who gets the scratch?

It's not someone you would expect given his hot start, but veteran forward Calle Jarnkrok was scratched for Saturday night's game as opposed to someone like a Nick Robertson or Dakota Joshua.

The move is surprising because Jarnkrok has three goals already this season and has looked completely different than last year when he was dealing with surgery recovery; he's quicker and way more comfortable now so why take him out?

According to Craig Berube it's just a numbers game when it comes to putting Jarnkrok in, though if we are going literally; he has better numbers than several Maple Leafs players right now.

The lineup will then look this way when the teams take the ice on Saturday night:

Knies - Matthews - Cowan
Maccelli - Tavares - Nylander
Robertson - Domi - McMann
Lorentz - Roy - Joshua

Rielly - Carlo
McCabe - Tanev
Benoit - Ekman-Larsson

Stolarz

While this lineup can certainly change it seems like Berube is trying to just make sure everybody gets equal parts rest and reps, so Jarnkrok coming out is a bit of a bummer but he could use a break after all the help he's given.

It will be interesting to see how Berube adjusts his lineups as well, given that he benched Easton Cowan for the third period on Thursday, we have no clue how the lines during the game will turn out even if they look so on paper.

Toronto will play host to the Kraken as the continue their five-game homestand, with the game scheduled to start at 7PM ET. For those interested in watching, it will be broadcast on Sportsnet, CBC, and ESPN+ for US Viewers.