Jim Hiller pushed the Maple Leafs into a different look last night, and the switch paid off in a 5-4 comeback win over the Nashville Predators.
Toronto was staring at a 3-0 deficit early in the second period before Gavin McKenna and John Tavares teamed up for the first goal, then William Nylander added another to trim the margin to one. Nashville and Toronto each found the net again late in the second, but the real change came in the third period, when Hiller reshuffled the lines and the Leafs started driving the game.
The new combinations were:
Roslovic - Matthews - Nylander
Cowan - Tavares - Marchenko
McKenna - Paul - Sissons
Groulx - Blueger - Duhaime
Those adjustments gave Toronto a different gear at both ends of the ice. In periods two and three plus overtime, the Maple Leafs outshot the Predators 29-14. If you isolate the third period and overtime, the edge was even cleaner: 16-7.
Hiller said the team never fully abandoned structure while trying to chase the game.
"I don't think we opened it up and played just all-in offence. Well, we got behind early, but there was lots of time left in the game. I thought we still had some defensive structure to the game."
He also made clear the changes were not a knee-jerk reaction. The staff had already been working through possibilities and knew roughly what it wanted to try if it made a move.
"It turned out well. We'll have to decide if we start the next game like that, you guys had been asking.
We'd been thinking about it. We'd had many conversations, so it wasn't necessarily something that was a spur-of-the-moment thing.
We kind of knew that if we did something, it might look something like what you saw."
For now, the Maple Leafs are still sorting out what their best mix looks like. With nine new forwards in the lineup who were not here last season and a shortened preseason, the coaching staff is making adjustments on the fly and testing combinations to see what sticks.
That kind of flexibility matters even more with an 18-year-old rookie like Gavin McKenna still settling in, even after he picked up two points last night and scored the first goal of his professional career.
The lineup is not locked in, and with Toronto’s forward depth, that may be a strength rather than a problem. The staff also has reason to keep its cards close to the vest going into the next game.
In Other News...
Oilers Trade Interest In Young Center Suddenly Gets More Complicated
Gavin McKennas early NHL stretch finally turned into a memorable night in Toronto, where the young forward notched his first goal and assist in the same game Tuesday. It was the kind of small but meaningful milestone that can give a newcomer some needed confidence, and it came at a time when the Maple Leafs are still sorting out what they have in their younger pieces.
Elsewhere in the league, Michael Bunting landed with the Flyers on a one-year, $1.2 million deal after staying unsigned into the season, a move Philadelphia hopes will help its offense right away. And for the Oilers, trade talk around a young center from an Eastern Conference team has only gotten murkier, with Matt Poitras still floating as a possible fit but no agreement in sight yet. [Read more 🡒]
Auston Matthews Just Gave Leafs Fans A Reason To Believe Again
Auston Matthews gave the Maple Leafs exactly the kind of night they have been waiting for, driving Toronto to a comeback victory over the Nashville Predators with a performance that felt like a reminder of what he can still mean to this team. He was all over the score sheet, helping fuel the rally and giving the Leafs a lift at a time when any sign of rhythm from their captain is going to draw attention.
Matthews has opened the season with five points in four games, a pace that suggests he is settling in fast after a stretch where his level of play was under the microscope. The bigger picture for Toronto is simple: if this version of Matthews is here to stay, the Leafs suddenly have a much better reason to believe their top player is moving back toward the form that once made him one of the leagues most dominant forces. [Read more 🡒]
Gavin McKennas Breakthrough Came After One Unusual Leafs Twist
Gavin McKennas first few days with the Maple Leafs were already drawing attention, but the real breakthrough arrived in a comeback win that gave the rookie his first NHL goal and his first career point. It came in his fourth game, a milestone moment that fit the kind of early-season spark Toronto has been looking for as it tries to keep building momentum.
What made the day stand out even before the puck dropped was McKenna showing up for the optional morning skate, a small detail that did not go unnoticed by fans or media around the team. Auston Matthews even suggested McKenna could be in line for more after getting that first one, and for a player still settling into his NHL footing, that kind of confidence can matter as much as the box score. [Read more 🡒]