Craig Berube Makes A Last-Minute Lineup Change Ahead Of Sabres Rematch
The Toronto Maple Leafs face off against the Buffalo Sabres on Friday night and head coach Craig Berube has made a last minute adjustment before they take the ice.
With Toronto looking to have a better start against the Buffalo Sabres their second time around, it looks like Craig Berube is going to make some changes right before the team takes the ice; as is his forte.
But the change comes at the cost of Toronto losing out on their "super-line" of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander, at least for the start.
David Alter of The Hockey News reported that Matthew Knies will take back the left spot on the top line.
It's a big change from the last two where Berube decided to overpower his top line in favor of trying to get a bunch of scoring opportunities. It seems like things are slowly going back to the way they were, and it remains to be seen whether it will end up being successful or a disappointment leading to more changes.
Berube's Change A Good Or Bad Sign?
With his team looking for a bit more offense, the splitting of Toronto's overpowered lines seems a bit unusual for Craig Berube to do, but he must have an ulterior motive.
It was refreshing to see Matthew Knies alongside Max Pacioretty and John Tavares as the second line became a hybrid of scoring and grittiness, bringing a lot of intimidation as well as a lot of offensive firepower.
Berube himself has been hesitant before of messing with a good thing, and it's strange to see him break the trio apart since they actually came together to help Toronto take down Buffalo.
But they were fairly quiet against the Stars and weren't the standout offense grouping Berube needed them to be and that could have easily led to the experiment to end.
The main consolation is that Toronto's third-line has suddenly turned into a dominant force, recording 10 points combined over their last two games and showing an unrelenting engine and has brought new life to both Max Domi and Nick Robertson.
Maple Leafs fans will get to see if Berube's plan will be fruitful as they take on the Buffalo Sabres in Buffalo and try to seal another win against a struggling team.
