"The Toronto Maple Leafs have largely gone with locked-in pairings throughout their lineup -- but things can drastically change soon. Whether it is Auston Matthews with Matthew Knies or John Tavares with William Nylander, there have been cemented duos in the Leafs' top six. That is what has worked before, and it's what head coach Craig Berube has kept throughout the start of this season. But unfortunately, after an embarrassing 5-2 loss to the New Jersey Devils, Toronto's head coach might just end up looking for a spark of scoring from somewhere and that can involve splitting those pairs up."
""It could be," Berube said of putting a Knies-Matthews-Nylander line together. "I always want a little balance, but it's definitely something that I'm thinking about.""
"During this season, Knies, Nylander, and Matthews have been on the ice together at 5-on-5 for a total of 20 minutes and 49 seconds through the seven games. During that time, the Leafs have actually not dominated like we would assume they would. A 50.88 percent of the shot attempt share, 48.98 percent of the expected goals share, and they were outscored 2-1 as well, according to Natural Stat Trick."
Craig Berube has maintained locked-in line pairings for Toronto's top six but is considering changes after a 5-2 loss to New Jersey. Berube is contemplating placing William Nylander as the full-time right wing with Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies to try to generate scoring. The trio has skated 20 minutes, 49 seconds together at 5-on-5 across seven games, producing a 50.88 percent shot attempt share, a 48.98 percent expected-goals share, and being outscored 2-1. The sample is small and deployment was situational, but altering combinations could provide an offensive spark.
Read at Editor In Leaf
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