Maple Leafs Forward Scratched Once Again as Berube Establishes Optimal Lineup

The Leafs are running on a high right now, victorious in their last 3 consecutive games and looking to keep the ball rolling tonight against the struggling Nashville Predators.

After Saturday's thrilling 4-3 win over the New York Rangers, the Maple Leafs moved back into a tie with the Florida Panthers atop the Atlantic Division with 13 games remaining. Tonight, they'll have a chance to pull ahead.

The Panthers are slated to take on the red hot Washington Capitals on Saturday evening, with the Capitals owning an 8-2-0 record over their last 10 games.

Meanwhile, the Leafs are pitted against the Predators, who are riding a 4-game losing skid and a 4-5-1 record over their last 10 games.

On Thursday, the Leafs made Calle Jarnkrok a healthy scratch after a particularly rough stretch of games for the veteran forward. David Kampf drew back in as a result, and he is expected to remain on the 4th line while Jarnkrok stays in the press box for consecutive games.

Another noteworthy decision has the Leafs keeping Bobby McMann up in the top-6 with William Nylander and John Tavares after the trio combined for 7 points against New York on a night in which Tavares enjoyed a milestone game, notching his 1100th career NHL point.

On defense, the Leafs are not making any changes, and appear to be pleased with the pairings as they are.

Morgan Rielly will attempt to continue to rebound from a bit of a tough season pairing once again with newcomer Brandon Carlo as they continue to build chemistry with one another. Jake McCabe, fresh off of a 3-point game against the Rangers, stays with Chris Tanev on what has quickly become the Leafs' top pairing. Simon Benoit and Oliver Ekman-Larsson round out the group on the third pair.