The line played together as a trio for the first time against the Seattle Kraken, but it was anything but smooth.
The line played together as a trio for the first time against the Seattle Kraken, but it was anything but smooth.
VANCOUVER — Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube was critical of how his new second line performed despite coming up with a 3-1 win against the Seattle Kraken on Thursday.
"I thought they were fine, but I thought they could execute it better on some situations that they didn't," Berube said after the game.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHhJrc5KPy4[/embed]
With Mitch Marner returning from a one-game rest due to lower-body spasms, Berube opted to place Marner on a line with John Tavares and William Nylander. But he clearly expected better. It was hardly a glowing endorsement from a trio of players with a combined salary cap hit over $33 million.
Despite that, the Leafs practiced with the trio together again at UBC Thunderbird Arena in Vancouver ahead of their game against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena on Saturday.
The Nylander-Tavares-Marner line had an expected-goals rating of 35 percent in 10:40 of even-strength ice time, according to NaturalStatTrick.com in Thursday's win.
So why run it back?
Max Domi is effective with Auston Matthews
After Marner was forced to miss a game due to a spasming lower-body injury, the Leafs saw better play out of Max Domi. The latter was shifted from center to the wing the play with Matthews and Matthew Knies. They were effective again on Thursday with a team-best 85 percent expected-goals rating as a line.
Untapped potential
Tavares has had success with both Nylander and Marner as separate pairs with a puck retrieving winger. They haven't skated together for whole games as a trio. In Tavares' words, it sounds like they just need some time to gel given both wingers like to have the puck.
"Those two guys (are) very puck dominant, obviously so good with it and make so many plays," Tavares said. "So just understanding, at times when you don't have, maybe the time and space to make a play, certainly through the neutral zone, and then the efforts again on the forecheck and earning pucks back and just making the simple plays, the simple reads, not always about making the high-end play or the highlight reel type of pass or tic-tac-toe look you're looking for."
Translation? Each forward has to figure out who is going to be the player getting into the dirty areas or going to the middle of the ice. It looked disjointed against the Kraken.
When you have that much talent on one line it doesn't always work. The Leafs tried a 'Super Line' earlier this season with Nylander and Marner playing alongside Matthews and it didn't work well.
But after one more try, the Leafs will break for the 4 Nations Face-Off where things are bound to be revisited
"If they execute, you know, the line could be very dangerous, for sure," Berube said.
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