The Maple Leafs are keeping things steady as they open their Western Conference road trip, choosing not to tinker with the lineup for Thursday’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights.
That decision comes after Toronto rode a comeback win on Tuesday into Las Vegas, where the team will face former Leaf Mitch Marner for the first time as a Golden Knight. The Leafs are coming in with some momentum after Gavin McKenna finally got on the board and Auston Matthews posted a four-point night, but the club is sticking with what worked, at least for now.
The top six stays intact, with Kirill Marchenko, Matthews and Jack Roslovic again together on the first line. McKenna remains on the second unit with John Tavares and William Nylander, after Easton Cowan had been expected to move up and replace him there.
The rest of the forward group also remains the same: Cowan with Paul and Sissons, and Duhaime, Blueger and Groulx on the fourth line.
On the blue line, there are no changes either. The pairings will be McCabe and Tanev, Rielly and Raddysh, and OEL with Stecher.
Sergei Bobrovsky gets the start in goal and is still looking for his first win as a Maple Leaf. He’s opened the season 0-2-0 with a 3.06 GAA and .887 SV%.
Toronto’s comeback against Nashville was the kind of win that can change the mood of a road trip, especially after falling behind 3-0 before turning the game around. McKenna’s first career goal helped finish the job, but the challenge gets a lot steeper against Vegas.
The Golden Knights bring a difficult matchup, and McKenna will be facing a heavy test against the likes of Jack Eichel, Marner and Shea Theodore. There’s also some intrigue around whether McKenna and Matthews will see more even-strength time together after many expected that to happen Thursday.
Bobrovsky’s play will also be under the microscope after Toronto committed $7M AAV to bring him in. So far, the results haven’t matched the price tag, with Anthony Stolarz sitting ahead of him as the backup.
It’s a late night for Leafs fans, but Toronto has a chance to start the trip with a statement win.
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