After defensive miscues, Keefe shakes up defensive pairings at practice; projected lines for the Leafs against Florida
Conor Timmins and Morgan Rielly were both -2 Saturday in Boston, and both had some pretty egregious turnovers that led to Bruins goals. As is usually the case when T.J. Brodie is absent from the lineup, finding a suitable partner for Rielly appears to be an issue.
At practice today, Sheldon Keefe has elected to try Timothy Liljegren next to Rielly again. Additionally, Jordie Benn was taking reps with Conor Timmins as Rasmus Sandin was absent from practice as well. Up front, Bobby McMann returned for line rushes after battling an illness and missing Saturday's game. He was skating alongside Pierre Engvall and David Kampf on the Leafs' 3rd line while Dryden Hunt and Wayne Simmonds were alternating reps on the 4th line with Alexander Kerfoot and Zach Aston-Reese.
Keefe hinted that he may reunite Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner after the game in Boston, but as of today's practice, Matthews was still flanked by William Nylander while Marner remained next to John Tavares. Whether this is Keefe not showing his hand or his reluctance to disrupt the Marner-Tavares combo, we will have to wait and see what the lineup looks like Tuesday night. We should have a better idea of how things will shape up following Tuesday's morning skate.
| POLL | ||
JANVIER 16 | 256 ANSWERS After defensive miscues, Keefe shakes up defensive pairings at practice; projected lines for the Leafs against Florida Should the Leafs look at trading Morgan Rielly? | ||
| Yes | 126 | 49.2 % |
| No | 97 | 37.9 % |
| He wouldn't waive his NMC | 33 | 12.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
