Maple Leafs roll out another new lineup for tonight's game in Chicago
Photo credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
Heading into Chicago on a four-game losing streak, the Maple Leafs are rolling out another new lineup as Craig Berube looks for a way to stabilize his team.
Stuck spinning their wheels near the basement of the Atlantic Division and and dealing with a series of injuries, the Toronto Maple Leafs are trying to get back on track and put in a much stronger effort against the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday night.
The defense has struggled heavily, and coming into the game they are looking at a red-hot Connor Bedard and a Chicago team that has surprised to start the year, sitting with an 8-5-4 record.
Craig Berube has a lot of work to do if he wants to find a lineup that gives Toronto a better chance to manage Bedard and the Blackhawks.
From the looks of the lines at Saturday's morning skate, he's trying some new combinations.
How tonight's new lineup reshapes the Leafs without Matthews, Tanev and Stolarz
Missing several key players including Auston Matthews, Anthony Stolarz, Chris Tanev and Scott Laughton, the team has had to shuffle things around.
Berube is trying to find what works in the short term, with the hope that some of these changes can stick long term.
Their projected lines from practice tell the story of a team trying whatever it can right now to get back on track:
Nick Robertson - John Tavares - William Nylander
Sammy Blais - Nicolas Roy - Easton Cowan
Matias Maccelli - Max Domi - Bobby McMann
Dakota Joshua - Steven Lorentz - Calle Jarnkrok
Sammy Blais - Nicolas Roy - Easton Cowan
Matias Maccelli - Max Domi - Bobby McMann
Dakota Joshua - Steven Lorentz - Calle Jarnkrok
The team is giving the lineup a new look with Sammy Blais getting shifted from his usual fourth-line role to the second, perhaps as a way to give Easton Cowan some more protection.
Dakota Joshua slips down to the fourth line where Blais is, and Steven Lorentz gets a shot at center over Calle Jarnkrok as Berube tries to give the lineup some more balance throughout.
Inconspicuous by his absence is forward Matthew Knies, who ended up missing practice on Friday with what the team referred to as maintenance:
No word on any potential injury to Knies.
Defense is still a mixed bag with both Philippe Myers and Dakota Mermis involved, and lends credence to the idea that the Maple Leafs were pursuing a top-four defenseman.
They clearly need help to at least bring in someone as a replacement for Chris Tanev.
Also, Toronto has noted that defenseman Brandon Carlo is out day-to-day as well, which is why both Mermis and Myers entered the lineup.
Joseph Woll will earn his first start of the season, and the Leafs will be counting on a solid performance from him in his return.
Berube is hoping this version of the lineup can finally help the Leafs stop the slide, because another loss would only add to the pressure around this group.
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