The Maple Leafs had been reluctant to break the top defensive pair in the wake of injuries at the position.
The Maple Leafs had been reluctant to break the top defensive pair in the wake of injuries at the position.
BUFFALO — When the Toronto Maple Leafs went through a series of injuries to their defense this season, head coach Sheldon Keefe held steady and kept his top pair of Morgan Rielly and TJ Brodie together. The duo have had instant chemistry throughout their four seasons with each other as Leafs so the fit made sense.
But in the second period of the team's 5-2 loss to the New York Rangers on Tuesday, Keefe switched the D pairs and moved Brodie down to the second pair along with Jake McCabe, another left-handed shooter. But this time, McCabe stayed on the right while Brodie moved to the left. The other change saw Timothy Liljegren skate on the right side of Rielly, a role he occupied when Brodie missed the team's 7-0 romp over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday with the flu.
Keefe kept those pairs during the team's morning skate at KeyBank Center ahead of their game against the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday and cited many reasons for keeping the switch.
"The biggest one is rooted in Liljegren’s arrival and coming back and looking through different things there," Keefe said. "With him and (Conor) Timmins out we’ve played McCabe on the right side and have become more comfortable with that. So I think that gives us the ability to kind of look at some different things."
And the biggest change from all of that sees Brodie move back to his strong side. Originally Toronto's best left-handed right-side defenseman option, it's rare to see Brodie not be the first option at that position.
Usually when Brodie has moved over from the right side to the left, it's to help spread out the depth. But in this case, some of this is an effort to try and get the 33-year-old's game on the right track.
It's not that the defenseman has been alone in terms of mistakes on the back end, but his possession numbers are way down and are representative of a team that doesn't have the puck as much as they have had it in previous seasons.
According to NaturalStatTrick.com, Brodie's 5-on-5 expected goals rate is 49 percent, his lowest in seven seasons. The same goes for the high-danger scoring chances at 47 percent, his lowest in nine seasons.
Rielly has also struggled as a result of some of this. but has made up for it in other ways with his timely production. This move was made to improve the team's matchups on defense which certainly hasn't been going well. And with Liljegren back, the Leafs seem eager to make this switch.
"It had been on our mind but we thought maybe giving Liljegren a bit more time to get comfortable would be helpful to him," Keefe explained. But you don’t have a lot of time in the NHL and we just felt we needed to make that adjustment and want to see this a little bit longer."
Brodie has some familiarity skating with McCabe last season and that should help things along.
When asked about how he's felt about his game as of late, Brodie kept things cool.
"There’s going to be good ones and bad ones. Everyone (game) is different," he told The Hockey News. "There’s going to be good ones and bad ones. It’s a mental game of not letting it linger. Once a play is over, it’s done and you move on and do better next time."
Brodie has certainly dealt with a lot this season. His father, Jay, passed away after a battle with cancer in September. That forced him to spend time away from the ice and as a result, he took some time away from the main group of training camp to ramp up his skating.
The ability to shake off a bad shift or game doesn't come with age or his experience in the NHL, but it comes down to perspective.
"I think it just depends on where you are in your life," He said. "You get comfortable that you realize there is more to life than hockey."
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