Jan 18, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs left wing Max Pacioretty (67) plays the puck against the Montreal Canadiens during the first period at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/0a4f18e7-6441-461f-bb01-b7f5d5b52b32.jpeg] Jan 18, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs left wing Max Pacioretty (67) plays the puck against the Montreal Canadiens during the first period at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images When the Toronto Maple Leafs stepped onto the ice at the Canadian Tire Centre for their morning skate on Thursday, Max Pacioretty was in top-six blue, re-affirming that lineup changes were coming after their Game 5 loss. And indeed, changes came. Max Pacioretty lined up alongside John Tavares and William Nylander, moving from the third line to the second, replacing Pontus Holmberg on the left wing. The 36-year-old has appeared in Games 3, 4, and 5, but has yet to register a point in the series. With the veteran forward moving up in the lineup, Holmberg shifts down to the third-line center spot, between Max Domi and Bobby McMann. Through five games against the Senators, that trio has registered two points (Domi with an overtime goal, McMann with an assist). Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube hinted on Wednesday [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdatBgtWjY0] that there could be some changes coming to Toronto's second line following Tavares and Nylander being a minus-3 in their last loss. "Some of it’s situational stuff. I think they’ve been OK. I think they’ve been pretty good at times," Berube said. "I don’t want to change too much. I think there’s a lot of good. But at the same time, we have to find ways to put the puck in the net a little bit more." ‘No One Expected It To Be Easy’: Morgan Rielly, Maple Leafs Focused On Regrouping After Back-To-Back Missed Opportunities To Close Out Senators [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/31ef2366-1aa3-44ff-822e-a280c6e76504.jpeg] ‘No One Expected It To Be Easy’: Morgan Rielly, Maple Leafs Focused On Regrouping After Back-To-Back Missed Opportunities To Close Out Senators With the Battle of Ontario tightening up, Morgan Rielly and the Toronto Maple Leafs are doing their best to remain composed following consecutive missed opportunities to eliminate the Ottawa Senators in their first-round playoff series. [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs/latest-news/no-one-expected-it-to-be-easy-morgan-rielly-maple-leafs-focused-on-regrouping-after-back-to-back-missed-opportunities-to-close-out-senators] He added on Thursday morning that he liked Pacioretty, Tavares, and Nylander's game [https://x.com/dalter/status/1917975073463373864] earlier in the season before Pacioretty suffered an injury. The trio was outchanced at five-on-five during the regular season, but had more high-danger chances [https://www.naturalstattrick.com/linestats.php?fromseason=20242025&thruseason=20242025&stype=2&sit=5v5&score=all&rate=n&team=TOR&vteam=ALL&view=wowy&loc=B&gpfilt=none&fd=2024-10-04&td=2025-04-17&tgp=2000&strict=incl&p1=8474157&p2=8477939&p3=8475166&p4=0&p5=0] and goals than their opponents through 179 minutes. "There's always debate about lineup changes," Berube said. "Max had some real good stretches with those guys before he got hurt. Big guy, strong, physical, good around the net, so that was the decision there." 'He Keeps Impressing Me, Along With The Organization': Matthew Knies Proving To Be Game Breaker For Maple Leafs In Playoffs [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/8fb492ef-1d37-49b2-9461-64d7b374243b.jpeg] 'He Keeps Impressing Me, Along With The Organization': Matthew Knies Proving To Be Game Breaker For Maple Leafs In Playoffs When Toronto Maple Leafs forward Matthew Knies outmuscled and outskated Ottawa Senators defenseman Artem Zub before beating Linus Ullmark, all head coach Craig Berube could do was smile. [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs/latest-news/he-keeps-impressing-me-along-with-the-organization-matthew-knies-proving-to-be-game-breaker-for-maple-leafs-in-playoffs] Why not re-insert someone like Nick Robertson into this series? "I just didn't feel that we needed that right now," Berube added. "There's a lot to like in our team right now, the way things are going, so we felt best to leave it." Every other line remains the same [https://x.com/dalter/status/1917970931776975355]: Matthew Knies, Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner; Steven Lorentz with Scott Laughton and Calle Jarnkrok. Berube credited his fourth line on Wednesday for their constant work ethic. "They work and they hound as a unit. And that’s why they have success," the head coach said. "That’s the bottom line with that line. Constant pressure, checking, work, and that’s why they have success. That’s really the point I’ll make on that." 'We Can Have That Mentality More': Maple Leafs Want To Instill Fourth Line's Forechecking On Rest Of Group Ahead Of Game 6 Against Senators [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/22f7b1c6-6d4b-423f-bb81-38d14873a850.jpeg] 'We Can Have That Mentality More': Maple Leafs Want To Instill Fourth Line's Forechecking On Rest Of Group Ahead Of Game 6 Against Senators Scott Laughton hopes his line, alongside Calle Jarnkrok and Steven Lorentz, can find a goal sooner rather than later. [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs/latest-news/we-can-have-that-mentality-more-maple-leafs-want-to-instill-fourth-lines-forechecking-on-rest-of-group-ahead-of-game-6-against-senators] Game 6 goes down on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. in Ottawa. If the Maple Leafs lose, the series shifts back to Toronto for Game 7 on Saturday. With a win, they'll advance to the second round to take on the Florida Panthers, who eliminated the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Stay updated with the most interesting Maple Leafs stories, analysis, breaking news and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News [https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBwgKMK-q0gsw7sXpAw/sections/CAQqEAgAKgcICjCvqtILMO7F6QMwytvfCA?ceid=CA:en&oc=3] to never miss a story.
