Maple Leafs Make Crucial Lineup Change Ahead Of Intense Clash With The Flyers
With Toronto in Philadelphia on Tuesday, there may not be any brotherly love as the team made a lineup change in order to bring in some much needed toughness.
During the first go around for the Philadelphia Flyers and Toronto Maple Leafs, the blue and white came out victorious although it wasn't without a huge cost as the team lost defenseman Jake McCabe for the foreseeable future.
It was during the game when McCabe and Flyers forward Garnet Hathaway decided to throw down the mitts. While it wasn't a long scrap, it did end up with McCabe smacking his head hard off the ice after Hathaway landed on him.
It was an unfortunate turn of events for the team and head coach Craig Berube has decided not to take any chances when it comes to the rematch.
Ryan Reaves Earns The Call For The Maple Leafs
Having been scratched the past couple of games due to Toronto being on a momentum rise, Reaves finds himself in the lineup once again as Toronto decides to even the odds with Hathaway in the lineup.
Reaves and Hathaway are no strangers to each other either, as the two fought when Reaves was a member of the Minnesota Wild.
This season Reaves has often been a healthy scratch and only has two assists in 26 games, and has yet to fight this season although does have 82 hits.
He also found himself suspended five games for a hit on Darnell Nurse, which caused a lot of controversy at the time.
With the third line struggling as well, Nick Robertson finds himself the odd man out on Tuesday. Although he enjoyed a decent stretch over the past week or so, it's been a bit quieter for the Leafs winger and Berube would much rather take him out than someone like David Kampf or Connor Dewar.
This season started off terribly for Robertson but he has picked it up slightly with six goals and four assists in 34 games.
Toronto is going to be in tough against a Philadelphia team hellbent on getting vengeance for their previous loss. It also gives the Leafs another look at a potential trade piece as the deadline slowly approaches.
