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Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube appears to have finally settled on a new 3rd line
Photo credit: Charles LeClaire - Imagn Images
It's taken about a quarter of the season to get things going, but Craig Berube and the Maple Leafs have finally found a 3rd line the coach is happy with.
The returns of Matthew Knies and Auston Matthews to the lineup have been an immeasurable success for the Toronto Maple Leafs, who have finally won back-to-back games for the first time since early November.
Beyond the obvious offensive production that the two of them bring, it has also helped with bringing balance to every line, which includes their newfound identity trio of Dakota Joshua, Bobby McMann, and Nicolas Roy.
The three forwards have come together in recent games and given the Leafs a third line that is heavy, hounding pucks with solid forechecking, and can move pretty well for a trio that a features no player shorter than 6'2 or lighter than 200 pounds.
Head coach Craig Berube finally has his new third line, and it doesn't look like he'll be breaking up that line any time soon, at least based on some of his recent comments.
"I think they're starting to form an identity with those three guys right now. I mean, they're all on the same page. You've got some good speed out there with Bobby [McMann] getting on pucks, and [Dakota Joshua] really starting to skate now too. So the difference in his game for me is his skating.
It hasn't been the storybook start for either Joshua or Roy, who were brought in this off-season to add to what Berube and Brad Treliving were trying to build in Toronto; which was a team that was big, heavy on pucks, and hard to play against.
Their newfound success is a little reminiscent of last year when the Leafs were humming with their third line that featured McMann, Max Domi, and Nicholas Robertson, who seemed to score at will.
Perhaps, we're seeing another version of that this year, and it's hard to ignore as the McMann-Roy-Joshua trio posted 4 goals and 9 points over the last two games.
Only time will tell if they can continue to be successful and provide the Leafs with a third line that can produce with the puck and protect without it. Their next test comes tonight in the form of the high flying Carolina Hurricanes team who are 16-7-2 and 5th league-wide in goals.
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