John Tavares' Absence Forces Maple Leafs to Shuffle Lines Ahead of Home Opener

Defeating Sheldon Keefe and the New Jersey Devils on Thursday night without any production from Auston Matthews, William Nylander and Mitch Marner was a good sign, as the Leafs received contributions from the bottom half of their lineup, including goals from Steven Lorentz and Bobby McMann.

Heading into their home opener tonight against Kyle Dubas and the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Leafs were hoping to build on Thursday's victory. Unfortunately, it appears they will have to do that without John Tavares, who was absent from the morning skate due to illness.

Although he is the only member of the 'Core Four' to record a point to begin the season, the start of the season has been a rough ride for the Mississauga, Ontario native as he battled injuries throughout training camp.

During the morning skate, Pontus Holmberg took Tavares' spot on the second line and was flanked by William Nylander and Bobby McMann, who appears set to draw into his second straight game after being a healthy scratch for the regular season opener against the Montreal Canadiens.

With Tavares absent, Ryan Reaves also draws back in on the fourth line, along with David Kampf and the aforementioned Lorentz. On the power-play, Max Pacioretty took Tavares' spot on the top unit which opened up an opportunity for McMann to slide onto the second unit.

The defensive pairings remain the same, which means Timothy Liljegren remains a healthy scratch for the Leafs amid reports that he may have quietly reqested a trade, informally.

It is worth noting that Tavares has not officially been ruled out yet, but given all of the movement at practice, we should probably expect him to sit out tonight. Unfortunate for the veteran forward, who no doubt would have loved to have been on the ice for the home opening ceremony.