John Tavares and Michael Bunting will have rotating partners on their line as the Maple Leafs look to keep their defensemen involved.
John Tavares and Michael Bunting will have rotating partners on their line as the Maple Leafs look to keep their defensemen involved.
The Toronto Maple Leafs will roll with 11 forwards and seven defensemen for the third time this season, but it will be one of their top lines that will be short a regular winger.
During practice, the Maple Leafs had Michael Bunting and John Tavares occupy what was the third-line at practice along with Wayne Simmonds, who acted as a placeholder.
Lafferty impressed in Tavares’ place
Tavares sat out of the team's 4-3 victory against the New Jersey Devils for precautionary reasons. Sam Lafferty was thrust into second-line center duties with both Tavares and Ryan O'Reilly out. Lafferty picked the secondary assist on Toronto's opening goal of the game when he found William Nylander trailing behind him. Nylander threaded the needle to find Calle Jarnkrok who scored the goal.
With Tavares returning, it gives Keefe the chance to spread out the center depth similar to what he was doing before O'Reilly was injured.
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Why the Tavares line won't have a regular winger?
It would have been simpler to go with a fourth-line of just two forwards like Toronto has done in some other games, but the Leafs want to keep things consistent and have found a good fourth-line mix in Zach Aston-Reese, David Kampf and Noel Acciari.
It's likely you will see William Nylander along with other wingers rotate into that right-wing spot with Bunting and Tavares.
The Maple Leafs captain has played with rotating wingers before. During the 2021 season, Tavares and Simmonds had different wingers when the team deployed 11 forward and seven defensemen for a game against the Vancouver Canucks.
Keeping defensemen involved
When the Maple Leafs acquired Jake McCabe from the Chicago Blackhawks, Erik Gustafsson from the Washington Capitals and Luke Schenn from the Vancouver Canucks, Keefe was armed with more defensive depth, and with just 18 games left in the regular season, there isn't a lot of time to find the right mix.
McCabe has fit in well on a line with Brodie and Keefe likes the mix because it gives him a similar look with Brodie that Jake Muzzin occupied during the team's 2022 playoff run.
Gustafsson and Schenn have only played in games with seven defensemen thus far, but it looks like the former will get more time ice time against the Oilers as he prepares to skate with Morgan Rielly.
"You just have to be ready, whether it's playing on the left side or right side and I've done both," Gustafsson said about rotation. "There's nothing really different other than having different partners on the ice."
Gustafsson is expected to get regular shifts on the second power play.
"He was thriving in Washington," Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said of Gustafsson. "I do think he brings some things to our group not unlike what Rasmus Sandin brought to our group in terms of his ability to move the puck, help us on the breakout, help us on the power play. I think it's important to keep him involved."
Toronto acquired Gustafsson along with the Boston Bruin's first-round pick in the 2023 draft in exchange for Sandin two weeks ago.
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