Craig Berube Makes a Statement With Leafs' Lineup Decision at Tuesday's Practice

With the Toronto Maple Leafs slipping and sliding during their recent losing skid, Craig Berube decided to juggle his lines in an attempt to jumpstart his offensive juggernauts and find any semblance of chemistry.

Unfortunately, nothing was working, so he decided to go back to the trios that worked earlier in the season. Many within the fanbase were upset by the decision because it seemed like the Leafs were just going back to the drawing board and refusing to adapt.

After last night's dominant performance, we may owe Berube an apology, because that was one of their best performances in a very long time. Not only did they play a cohesive game from start to finish but the big guns combined for 3 goals and 8 points, which was a welcomed sight.

On top of Auston Matthews' vintage performance, the third line made up of Nicholas Robertson, Max Domi, and Bobby McMann combined for 3 goals themselves and showed their mettle once again.

It wasn't all too surprising to see Berube roll with the same lineup during today's morning skate. It was a bit of a statement from Berube, who may be trying to show the league what to expect from the Leafs the rest of the way and into the playoffs.

The Leafs will be welcoming the Colorado Avalanche into the lion's den tomorrow night in the hopes of some revenge after they dropped their last meeting by a score of 7-4 on the 8th of March.

The Atlantic Division isn't getting any easier to traverse and with just a handful of games remaining, every night matters so much more.

Florida is atop the division with 85 points in 68 games, Tampa Bay and Toronto are next with 83 points in 67 games apiece, but Tampa Bay holds the tiebreaker, and then Ottawa is sticking around with 77 points in 66 games.

The upcoming schedule is advantageous for the Maple Leafs, but they truly can't stumble out of the blocks. They have matchups against Nashville, Philadelphia, San Jose, and Anaheim to close out the month, which should give them a leg up in the race for first place.

However, it all starts at the top with the likes of Matthews and Mitch Marner and then trickles down to the secondary pieces that have done extremely well in the past, especially the third line.

If these lines can continue to mesh and Berube keeps them intact, it's certainly not out of the realm of possibility that they go on another run to close out the season on a high note, perhaps even winning the division.