Maple Leafs Make Questionable Lineup Decision Against Vancouver

On the wrong side of history their last time out against Carolina, the top-line for the Leafs remains intact in a potentially worrisome call from Craig Berube.

The Maple Leafs made a few changes to their lineup ahead of their contest against the Vancouver Canucks but potentially not the change that was expected after their no-show in Carolina that resulted in a 6-3 defeat.

The top line, which featured Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and Matthew Knies finished the game as combined minus-17. On top of that, Matthews and Marner set history as the first set of Leafs teammates to finish with a minus-6 rating since Daniel Marois and Mke Bullard accomplished the same feat back in 1991.

Their line was thoroughly outplayed by the Hurricanes' trio of Jordan Staal, Jordan Martinook, and Andrei Svechnikov with the captain potting a hat-trick and Martinook recording 3 assists.

The timing may have been right for Berube to send Marner and Matthews a lesson. He opted not to. Instead of shaking things up at the top, Craig Berube decided to run it back with the skilled trio as they hope for a much better fate tonight against the struggling Vancouver Canucks.

As for the remaining forward lines, there were a few changes. Max Pacioretty returned and was seen on the second line with John Tavares and William Nylander. The trio of Bobby McMann, Max Domi, and Nick Robertson was reunited, despite the latter having been scratched 2 games ago. Meanwhile, with Pontus Holmberg coming out once again, the fourth line featured Steven Lorentz, David Kampf, and Connor Dewar

The back end also saw some shuffling with Jake McCabe still on the IR with an upper-body injury. Phil Myers returned to the top pairing with Morgan Rielly, Oliver Ekman-Larsson was placed back with Chris Tanev, and Simon Benoit and Conor TImmins rounded things out.

After a scintillating stretch from Matthews, Marner, and Knies in their previous 3 games, where they combined for 8 goals and 13 assists against the Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers, they will be looking to return to their former glory tonight.

Expect a much different result and a far better outing from the trio and the team as a whole with the Canucks in town a little jet-lagged and having lost 12 of their last 16 contests.