With the Toronto Maple Leafs having lost 5 of their last 6 games, including last night's tight affair in Vancouver, Sheldon Keefe has tweaked the lineup for the second leg of their back to back tonight in Seattle. There will be changes up front, on the blueline and in goal.
Sheldon Keefe has confirmed that Conor Timmins will be coming into the lineup for Mark Giordano on the blueline. Meanwhile, Bobby McMann will come out of the lineup to make way for Nicholas Robertson up front. We haven't seen the line rushes today, but based on their set-up from last night, expect Robertson to take the fourth line spot previously occupied by McMann alongside David Kampf and Noah Gregor, while Timmins should be paired up with Simon Benoit - if nothing else changes.
Robertson has been in and out of the lineup in recent weeks, having last played on the 14th in a game against the Detroit Red Wings. He has 3 goals in his last 9 games, dating back to the 19th of December. Timmins also last suited up on the 14th and has 1 goal and 6 points in 14 games this season.
Another lineup change - but an expected one - is that Ilya Samsonov will be guarding the crease tonight with Martin Jones having played last night. Keefe intimated that Samsonov is "hungry to get the net" tonight as he looks for his first victory in 6 games, dating back to the 9th of December when he shut out the Nashville Predators.
Tonight, the Maple Leafs are set to face the Seattle Kraken, who have lost their last 3 games after having won 9 consecutive games prior. It's been a very inconsistent and disappointing season for the Kraken and a lot of it has to do with their 27th ranked offense. Look for the Leafs to try to take advantage of that tonight.
