Seeking consistency in his lineup, Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe elected to make no changes to his lineup against the Buffalo Sabres
Toronto Maple Leafs forward Nick Robertson will be a healthy scratch for the third consecutive game when his team hosts the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday.
Following Friday’s practice, Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe contemplated making a change. But he has elected not to do so to let the current group of players get some consistency.
“I think we’ve got some traction here in some of the lines,” Keefe said. “The line with [Pierre] Engvall and [Calle] we’ve been looking to find traction on a natural center is something we want to have play out.”
Pontus Holmberg replaced Robertson on the third line following Toronto’s 3-2 victory over the Vancouver Canucks. It’s also the last time Robertson got into a game.
The 21-year-old Robertson had two shots on goal in 8:49 of ice time.
Keefe said it’s been a daily discussion of when it comes to getting Robertson back into a the lineup.
“He’s working his ass off and staying ready,” Keefe said of Robertson. “We come back to that consistency that we are looking for.”
With some added flexibility in the lineup, it may serve Robertson and the Maple Leafs better get him into some games with the Toronto Marlies here and there.
Keefe said any change in Robertson’s status with the big club would be an organizational decision.
“I think the moment it’s not a daily discussion in terms of us wanting to get him in and seeing that he’s a guy that can help us then maybe it becomes a different conversation,” Keefe said. “But as for right now, he’s here and we want to continue to work with him.”
The decision to scratch Robertson was nearly moot when Auston Matthews took a puck off his left foot at practice yesterday. But he will be in the lineup against the Sabres on Saturday.
In that scenario, someone like Alex Kerfoot may have moved to center and allowed Robertson to be put back into a top-six role.
Perhaps the issue is that Robertson isn’t necessarily suited for the third-line role?
Other options for Robertson to come would have been scratching either Engvall (who was scratched earlier this season) or Jarnkrok (who has had a difficult time finding his scoring touch).
Although every line struggled to gain traction against the New Jersey Devils, it’s notable to point out that the third line with Holmberg on it was the best Toronto forwards line in terms of expected-goals for share at 39 percent.
Robertson has two goals and five points in 10 games this season with the Leafs.