Maple Leafs Officially Shake Up Lines as Forwards Get Last Chance to Impress vs. Red Wings
Photo credit: Hockey Patrol
With the final preseason game taking place on Saturday night between Toronto and Detroit, let's take a look at who will be lining up for Craig Berube's squad.
The first time the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs clashed, it wasn't exactly smooth sailing for the blue and white, being handed a 3-1 loss by their Original Six rivals and being utterly dominated at least in terms of shots.
They get their chance to bounce back on Saturday night in the final preseason game before the regular season, and with a slew of roster changes happening in the last 24 hours, we are going to see a different lineup than Thursday.
Maple Leafs Projected Lineup for Final Preseason Clash
So who exactly is Craig Berube going to plug into the lineup come game-time? He has a fair number of options at his disposal, with several players getting one last chance to crack the roster:
Robertson - Haymes - Jarnkrok
Cowan - Quillan - Lettieri
Barbolini - Shaw - A.Nylander
Pezzetta - Pare - Boyd
Cowan - Quillan - Lettieri
Barbolini - Shaw - A.Nylander
Pezzetta - Pare - Boyd
Benoit - Mermis
Thrun - Myers
Webber - Benning
Thrun - Myers
Webber - Benning
Hildeby (Starting)
Reimer
Reimer
The group lined up at practice was certainly full of Marlies and depth players, so you won't see guys like Auston Matthews or Morgan Rielly and it's definitely the 'B' team on Saturday night.
We will see the likes of Calle Jarnkrok and Nick Robertson inserted into the lineup, and while it's not for certain this game will earn them a shot every day, a strong performance will give them the edge especially on the top line.
There's also the likes of Michael Pezzetta up front, and NCAA standout Luke Haymes and Jacob Quillan earn top center duties meanwhile Alex Nylander gets a crack at showing what he can do as well.
The defense will be full of depth like Philippe Myers, Dakota Mermis, Henry Thrun, and Matt Benning however Simon Benoit is an everyday player who just needs more reps after recovering from an injury.
Goaltending will have a much different look but with a very familiar face as though Dennis Hildeby will start, James Reimer should make an appearance after being signed to a PTO as insurance while Joseph Woll takes his extended leave of absence.
Maple Leafs Need Strong Finish To Mediocre Preseason
Regardless of who lines up for the team, heck you could have Mats Sundin back on the ice right now; they need a strong finish to the preseason.
After coming out with a win against Ottawa, they faltered late in their rematch and fell 3-2 in OT. Then they thrashed Montreal 7-2 but were on the other end of a 4-2 beatdown right after from the Habs.
Finally, they started strong against Detroit but yet again lost the game in the last few minutes which is a worrying sign for a team who lost their biggest clutch performer in Mitch Marner.
This is a team who is going to have a lot of expectations and pressure regardless of going through an identity change or not, and with an already weakened Atlantic Division, it's theirs for the taking but they need to actually grab hold while they can.
While it's not going to be the everyday lineup for the squad, nonetheless a good game is needed top to bottom, and for guys like Robertson and Jarnkrok, is really one of the last chances they have to solidify their place on the roster.
A strong game from everyone will make this middling preseason look a lot better than it was, and will give them enough confidence heading into October 8th's opener against Montreal.
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