Sheldon Keefe spreads the Leafs offense with Mitch Marner's return
Head coach Sheldon Keefe decided to spread the Toronto Maple Leafs' offense throughout the lineup upon Mitch Marner's return.
If you didn't know, Mitch Marner is set to come back to the lineup tomorrow against the Montreal Canadiens after missing the last 12 games due to a high ankle sprain.
Sheldon Keefe faced an interesting dilemma concerning Marner's place in the lineup. With the way that the Bertuzzi-Matthews-Domi line has been playing lately, it's time to explore new combinations for Marner.
Even if Dom Luszczyszyn suggested on The Athletic that
Marner should be paired with Nylander at center, Keefe decided to go in another direction.
Sheldon Keefe tries something new with Mitch Marner by spreading the offense throughout the lineup.
At today's practice, Marner was back in the lineup, and he was on the second line with John Tavares and Bobby McMann. Notably, William Nylander was placed on the third line, with Matthew Knies and Pontus Holmberg, in a major change from what we saw in Toronto this season.
At the blue line, something else happened: Mark Giordano and TJ Brodie were paired up for the first time. Joel Edmundson, who was at his first practice back from his injury, skated on the fourth pair with Conor Timmins.
Watch the full lineup here:
Bertuzzi � Matthews � Domi
McMann � Tavares � Marner
Knies � Holmberg � Nylander
Dewar � Kampf � Reaves"
"TJ Brodie and Mark Giordano paired up together for the first time in Toronto.
Leafs' D today:
Rielly � Lyubushkin
Benoit � McCabe
Giordano � Brodie
Edmundson* � Timmins
*First practice since injury"
Tomorrow's game in Montreal should be an interesting one. Make sure to tune in for any news related to that matchup.
| POLL | ||
Do you think Keefe made the right decision with Mitch Marner's return? | ||
| YEs | 333 | 70.7 % |
| No | 138 | 29.3 % |
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