Craig Berube Makes Controversial Lineup Change Against the Montreal Canadiens
With another rivalry game on Saturday night as the Maple Leafs take on the Canadiens, so Craig Berube decided he wanted to shake things up with his forwards corps.
Given it's been a heated matchup for over a century, whenever Toronto and Montreal get together it's bound to be exciting hockey filled with lots of hits, drama, and a few goals thrown in the mix too.
The season matchup stands at one win apiece, and with the Leafs coming off a thrilling 4-3 OT victory, and Montreal coming off a dominant 3-1 win over Dallas, both team are looking to keep their momentum rolling in a very tight Atlantic Division race.
So Toronto isn't doing too much to change up what worked for them against New Jersey on Thursday, but they did add a bit of much needed grit and size just in case any funny business is afoot.
Ryan Reaves Gets The Call To Add Extra Toughness To Lineup
Although he's been in and out of the lineup at various points in the year, there's no doubt Craig Berube loves Ryan Reaves.
The added toughness and energy the veteran brings is something Toronto needs but beyond that, it can be tough to excuse his glaring faults. He doesn't bring offense and barely plays defense, he's a step or two behind the play compared to younger players, and still has yet to drop the gloves; his main job.
For what it's worth, Reaves does have offensive capabilities and did enjoy a nine-goal, 20-point season in 2018-19 and has 63 career tallies.
This season however, Reaves only has two assists, a minus-1, 23 PIM, but does have 89 hits yet only 7 blocks, proving he does provide a lot of toughness via laying hits but not much else.
Connor Dewar is the unfortunate casualty of Reaves entering the lineup, though he hasn't exactly been fantastic either, but has provided much better defense than Reaves and actually has a fight under his belt.
Dewar has three assists, but is minus-2 on the year. He also has 17 blocks and 76 hits, proving he can offer just as much as Reaves if not more.
Toronto is going to be in tough against a Montreal team riding a lot of momentum and are 11-2-1 in their last 14 games and only sit seven points out of second place in the Atlantic.
It will be up to Joseph Woll to weather the Canadiens storm; Woll is 15-8-0 with a 2.66 GAA and .907 SV% as Toronto heads to the Bell Centre in Montreal with the game scheduled to start at 7pm ET.
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