Craig Berube Addresses Advantage the Senators Will Use to Try to Even Series with Leafs

The Toronto Maple Leafs came out strong in their first round series with the Ottawa Senators with back-to-back victories to take a 2-0 lead on their Ontario counterparts.

Now, with the series shifting to Ottawa for Games 3 and 4, the Senators will look to utilize home ice in their favour, which comes with the home crowd and a couple of other advantages, including the last line change.

Matchups are an intricate detail in the post-season, and being able to have the right guys on the ice after every whistle is a keen home ice advantage, which was something the Maple Leafs were able to utilize to their benefit in Games 1 and 2.

Head coach Craig Berube saw that Senators head coach Travis Green tried his best to maneuver around that rule as the road team, but also isn't entirely worried because he believes he has the right guys and line combinations no matter what.

One of the Maple Leafs' strong suits heading into the post-season was forming a very solid bottom-6. The trio of Max Domi, Nicholas Robertson, and Bobby McMann gave the Leafs a third line they could comfortably roll out for 12-15 minutes a night.

That, in essence, alleviates a lot of pressures from the top-6 forwards, allowing for a balanced compliment of minutes should Berube feel the need. However, the formation of Scott Laughton, Steven Lorentz, and Calle Jarnkrok might have changed everything. The trio of veterans give the Leafs a level of tenacity, grit, and offensive skill on the 4th line that most teams might not be able to match up with.

All 4 lines compete, they all drive play with physicality and skill, and they can all go toe-to-toe defensively with most of Ottawa's combinations.

Berube will want to have his best trios out on the ice at any given moment, but the Leafs don't seem to be overly concerned heading into Games 3 and 4. If they stick to their schemes and play their system well, the Maple Leafs should be able to come out of it with at least one win, putting the Sens on the brink. They may even set up a sweep scenario on Saturday night.