Following an 0-5-2 slump and an 11-game goalless drought for Auston Matthews, the Maple Leafs are returning to familiar lineup combinations in hopes of igniting a stagnant offense.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are returning to a familiar look in their top-six as they hit the road to take on the Montreal Canadiens. During practice on Monday, the coaching staff moved William Nylander off the top line, reuniting Auston Matthews with winger Matthew Knies.
Nylander, meanwhile, has returned to his second-line wing position alongside Matias Maccelli and John Tavares. Having gone 0-5-2 since the Olympic break, Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube hopes this familiar configuration will ignite an offense that has
“We’re not producing enough,” Berube said following Monday's practice. “We’re not getting enough goals. We’re getting looks and some chances, but they’re not going in. [We] sort of went back to the lines before the break; we were scoring a little bit more at that point".
The Knies-Matthews-Domi line hasn’t found much success this season, having allowed far more shot attempts (182) than they generated (149) at 5-on-5. While that trio has scored four goals and allowed eight, the numbers shift when Domi is off the ice; without him, Matthews and Knies have outscored opponents 17-11.
With Matthews currently mired in an 11-game goalless drought, the team is desperate to find a spark, and the recent pairing with Nylander simply hasn’t yielded results. Reuniting Maccelli, Tavares, and Nylander may offer a positive change, as the trio has maintained an expected goals share of 57.81 percent in 173:15 of ice time at 5-on-5, according to NaturalStatTrick.com. While Toronto has struggled offensively as a whole, Maccelli has stayed hot, scoring in three consecutive games for the first time since the club acquired him from the Utah Hockey Club last summer.
These shifts mean Easton Cowan has been bumped to the third line, where he joins Jacob Quillan and Nick Robertson—a trio that has never played together in a game. Despite the lack of shared experience, the coaching staff is hopeful this could provide the fun, youthful energy they’ve been looking for in their bottom-six.
"When I put the other lines together, that's just where he fit in right now," Berube explained regarding Cowan's placement. "But we’ll see. I plan on using 'Cowboy' as much as I can if it's warranted. If he's going, I'll move him around, but he's on a power play, too".
There is already some precedent for chemistry here; Robertson and Cowan played 154:01 of 5-on-5 together this season, outscoring opponents 6-3.
"Robertson and Cowan had some real good chemistry for a stretch with Nick Roy," Berube noted. "I thought they were good out here together today, too". The bottom of the lineup features Steven Lorentz centering the fourth line with Dakota Joshua and Calle Jarnkrok. These opportunities come on the heels of the Leafs trading forwards Bobby McMann and Scott Laughton for draft picks last week. Those departures have opened doors for players like Cowan and Quillan, the latter of whom was called up last week. If these lines hold, it will be the first time Quillan centers a third line as he earns an extended look in the NHL.