Several Interesting Developments Coming Out of Maple Leafs Practice on Friday

The Maple Leafs gave themselves some breathing room atop the Atlantic Division with their regulation win over the Panthers on Wednesday, but it came at a cost. Defenseman Jake McCabe and forward David Kampf both left the game with suspected upper-body injuries.

Both players were absent from practice on Friday, which forced Craig Berube to shuffle the forward group and defensive pairings.

The Leafs' top nine remained together with the only significant changes coming to the fourth line where Pontus Holmberg will slot into the 4C position and Nick Robertson, who hasn't played since March 27th, will draw onto the right wing on the fourth line.

The move comes as a bit of a surprise given that the Leafs acquired Scott Laughton to shore up their depth down the middle, yet he remains on Max Domi's wing on the third line. Laughton's consistent wing deployment has been quite the development.

There was also a bit of a spat during practice, involving defenseman Brandon Carlo and forward Max Domi, though the situation was quickly resolved before becoming a distraction.

For Robertson, drawing back in is an opportunity to get back into Berube's good books and push for a spot in the lineup for opening night of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in a few short weeks.

On the back end, Philippe Myers will finally get back into the lineup after being a healthy scratch for almost a month. He will pair with Simon Benoit, if today's pairings remain together tomorrow night.

In McCabe's absence, Oliver Ekman-Larsson will move up to skate with Chris Tanev while Morgan Rielly and Brandon Carlo continue to build their chemistry together.

With 7 games remaining on the schedule for the Leafs, now is the time for players like Robertson and Myers to show that they belong on the roster. They'll both need to make the most of their opportunities in the coming days.