Searching for a spark to snap a three-game losing streak, the Maple Leafs are reuniting stars Auston Matthews and William Nylander as the reality of a ten-year playoff streak being broken begins to loom.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are reuniting their top two forwards, as William Nylander will return to a line with Auston Matthews when the club hosts the Philadelphia Flyers at Scotiabank Arena on Monday.
While the Leafs have dabbled with a Matthews-Nylander pairing earlier this season, the combination never truly stuck. However, recent results have forced Berube's hand, as the team has managed just five goals during their current three-game losing streak. Of those five, two occurred on the power play, while another was scored immediately after a power play had expired. Despite recently captaining Team USA to a gold medal at the Olympics, Matthews has been limited to three assists over this three-game span. Nylander has fared similarly, recording one goal and two assists in that time.
"We haven't scored," Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube said, explaining the logic behind the move. "We need some offense for sure from those guys, but they have to be responsible defensively too."
Statistically, reuniting the two stars is a gamble, as underlying numbers suggest the pairing often struggles to control play. According to Natural Stat Trick, the duo holds an expected goals share of just 42 percent, a figure well below the 50 percent break-even mark. While on the ice together, they have scored 10 goals but allowed nine. This marks the first extended look at the duo with Bobby McMann on their wing; in a very limited sample size, the McMann-Matthews-Nylander trio has posted a struggling 38 percent expected goals share.
The top-line reunion is part of a larger overhaul, as the Leafs shuffled all four starting lines. The most notable subtraction is Nick Robertson, who finds himself as the odd man out. "I've got to make decisions in the lineup, and I felt Nicky's game has dropped off even before the break a little bit and through the break here," Berube explained, noting that Robertson would receive a "reset" today. Robertson has been held off the scoresheet in his last five games and has managed only one goal in his last 11 contests.
Taking Robertson's place is Steven Lorentz, who returns to the lineup after serving one game as a healthy scratch. Conversely, it appears Troy Stecher will be scratched. This would be a significant change for Stecher, who has played in every game for the club since.
The shuffle comes at a critical juncture, as the Leafs have struggled since returning from the Olympic break and are facing the grim reality of potentially missing the playoffs for the first time in a decade. Compounding this pressure is the looming March 6 trade deadline. "They're Leafs today, so we need them to play for us," Berube said of the roster uncertainty. "They're professionals, and they've got to deal with that. Nobody can deal with it for them. They've just got to deal with it, and they've got to go play. They've got to do the job."