Keefe admitted after practice on Monday that he's been reluctant to change the top-six given the strong play from Tavares and Nylander.
Keefe admitted after practice on Monday that he's been reluctant to change the top-six given the strong play from Tavares and Nylander.
Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews
The two forwards have three points each in their last seven games, combining for only three even-strength points in that span. Being the Maple Leafs' two most-paid forwards, that's not enough.
After another lacklustre performance against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday, Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe elected to split the two players up during Monday's practice.
With the lack of production over a longer period, some might ask why it took Keefe so long to split both Matthews and Marner up. He said on Monday that it was more about keeping the second line intact than anything else.
"It's a chance to kind of reset," Keefe called the lineup changes on Monday.
"We've been talking a lot about that group (Matthews and Marner). It's just been great reluctance on my part to make a change to the (John) Tavares group in particular, and with Willy in particular. He really found a nice groove, his game has been going so well that we were reluctant to make a change to him and his situation.
"You don't want to affect guys who are rolling and feeling good in order to boost other groups, but I think the time's right and even for Willy himself, since coming back from Sweden, we don't think it's gone as well for him. So, just the timing is right there."
With that being said, what does the Maple Leafs head coach feel is plaguing the top line and their dip in production?
"I think you look at the way it's gone for them this season, they've had really big nights and they've had other nights where they haven't been effective at all," Keefe said.
"We're just trying to find more consistency there, so you look at changing it and we looked at some other options as well with some of the rest of our lineup and moving things around, but ultimately just settled on this. The timing was right in regards to both Willy and Mitch."
Matthews would agree, adding that there's been "a little bit of disconnectivity" between the pair at times.
"Like I said the other night, throughout games I think it's just too many highs and lows. I think just the consistency of putting together shift after shift hasn't been there as much as we wanted."
There are plenty of positives to this switch for Toronto, though. Last season, when Matthews and Nylander were together, they had a 73.08 GF% at five-on-five in just under 505 minutes on-ice together, per NaturalStatTrick.com.
For Tavares and Marner last season, the pair had a 65.96 GF% at five-on-five in just under 550 minutes of ice time together, per NaturalStatTrick.com.
"They're very similar in finding space on the ice that somehow they get into quiet areas and can escape pressure and kind of just find a hole to be in a spot to get pucks on and off their sticks quickly," Marner said of playing with Matthews and Tavares.
"And obviously, for myself, that's great to play with because, for me, it's trying to open up plays, trying to open up space, and trying to open up them to have that space, to get [the puck] on and off quickly."
Marner was only held pointless in three straight games once last season, between April 1 and April 6. This year, he's already been held pointless in three straight, and if he doesn't get on the scoresheet on Tuesday night, it'll be another three-game pointless streak.
What's the cause behind the lack of production in Marner's eyes?
"Just not getting the pick with a whole lot of speed and myself moving," he said on Monday. "Not really trusting my abilities out there, so it's something that needs to change and you've just got to trust it."
And how does he get through a stretch like this?
"Breathing, relaxing, realizing [the offense] will come. If you force stuff, that's when you'll get more frustrated, more mad. Just gotta trust your instincts, trust your game, and I've been in the spots before multiple times in my career, so it's just making sure I'm relaxed, calm and steady out there, and just doing what I love."
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