With Nazem Kadri's three-game suspension, the Maple Leafs will be without their No. 2 center until Game 5 (if necessary). Given Patrice Bergeron's propensity to shut down opposing top centers - even Auston Matthews - Kadri was as important as anyone to the Leafs' success this series.
Mike Babcock said these will be the Leafs' line combinations in Saturday's pregame warmup, per TSN's Mark Masters.
LW
C
RW
Komarov
Matthews
Nylander
Hyman
Marleau
Marner
van Riemsdyk
Bozak
Brown
Johnsson
Plekanec
Kapanen
Having the slow-footed Leo Komarov - arguably the Leafs' worst forward - playing with Auston Matthews is not ideal, so let's take a look at some other options Babcock has at his disposal.
Marleau centering
The veteran Patrick Marleau shifting to center seems the logical choice. The 38-year-old can still fly, is responsible defensively, and with 178 career playoff games, no moment is too big for him. Here are a few possible lineup combinations that keep Komarov in his proper fourth-line role.
If Babcock is intent on a Hyman-Marleau-Marner trio, Johnsson is a much better top-line option than Komarov. He can score and also brings a lot of energy and tenacity - not unlike Hyman.
Option 1C:
LW
C
RW
Johnsson
Matthews
Nylander
Hyman
Marleau
Marner
JVR
Bozak
Kapanen
Komarov
Plekanec
Brown
Flipping Brown and Kapanen would bring some much-needed speed to the third line.
Nylander centering
William Nylander played center in Matthews' most recent absence in the regular season. And while having the young Swede down the middle would make Babcock more stressed than a college student during exam season, there's an argument to be made that his presence would make the offense more dynamic, even if there's some defensive risk involved.
Option 2A:
LW
C
RW
Hyman
Matthews
Brown
Marleau
Nylander
Marner
JVR
Bozak
Kapanen
Komarov
Plekanec
Johnsson
While the sample size isn't large, in 62 minutes together at 5-on-5 this season, Nylander and Marner generated 56.5 percent of the shot attempts, 80 percent of the goals, and 66 percent of the scoring chances. This trio could make Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy second-guess whether the Bergeron line and the Chara-McAvoy pairing should shadow Matthews.
Option 2B:
LW
C
RW
Johnsson
Matthews
Hyman
Marleau
Nylander
Marner
JVR
Bozak
Brown
Komarov
Plekanec
Kapanen
Brown's responsible play in his own end on the top line would keep Babcock at ease, but given that he's scored just one goal in his last 23 games, Johnsson could be the better fit alongside Matthews.
Option 2C:
LW
C
RW
Marleau
Matthews
Hyman
JVR
Nylander
Marner
Johnsson
Bozak
Brown
Komarov
Plekanec
Kapanen
There's almost a zero percent chance Babcock would send out a line as defensively irresponsible as JVR-Nylander-Marner, but that trio could do some damage on the scoreboard.
Conclusion
Option 1A would seemingly be the best way for the Leafs to begin Game 2, but if they wind up trailing as they did in Game 1, Option 2B could kick-start the offense.
With the 2018 NHL Playoffs now in full swing, hockey fans across North America are being treated to a bevy of exciting games on a nightly basis for the next couple of weeks.
However, for the first time in over 45 years, legendary play-by-play man Bob Cole won't be calling any postseason action. A fact Cole has struggled to come to terms with. "I’ve been doing playoffs every year of my life in broadcasting. This is the first time that I’m not involved," Cole said, according to Michael Traikos of Postmedia.
"It’s difficult to live with the fact that I’m not working. I surely will miss not working the playoffs. That’s the best way I can say it."
Cole has been the voice of hockey in Canada since 1972, weaving himself into the fabric of the sport for generations of fans.
However, his incredible run behind the microphone came to an unceremonious end this season. A reality that he says is tough to handle.
"The decision sure wasn’t mutual,” Cole said. “It was right out of the blue. Rogers decided to go with other (broadcast) teams and I have to live with that. But it was their decision - not mine."
" ... But I was never told that once that playoffs start, I wouldn’t be working. I’m not going to be part of it all. That’s kind of tough, but you have to live with it."
Cole's spot will be filled this postseason by a combination of broadcasters that includes Jim Hughson and Craig Simpson, who are calling the Bruins-Leafs series for Sportsnet-CBC, with Paul Romanuk and Garry Galley covering the Jets-Wild series.
After being blown out 7-0 by the Pittsburgh Penguins in a very lopsided Game 1, the club rallied with a commanding 5-1 win of their own Friday night to knot the series up at one game apiece.
Following the win, Flyers captain Claude Giroux had a message for those who counted his team out after Game 1:
"For all you doubters out there, there you go," he said, according to NHL.com's Dan Rosen.
Head coach Dave Hakstol echoed Giroux's sentiment, suggesting the series has now changed entirely.
"I said it coming in: Nobody is really giving us a serious chance in this series. I don't know if anybody still will," Hakstol said. "But I know this, we just got it down to a five-game series and we introduced ourselves into this series tonight."
With the win, the Flyers have now snatched home-ice advantage away from the Penguins and on Sunday they will get the chance to complete the series turnaround.
The Minnesota Wild quite literally will not go down without a fight.
Near the end of Game 2 against the Winnipeg Jets, all h-e-double hockey sticks broke out, resulting in four fighting majors, four misconducts, and a handful of minor penalties.
The Winnipeg Jets star appeared to pull off a subtle but brilliant troll job after scoring to give his team a 4-0 lead over the Minnesota Wild in an eventual 4-1 victory in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series Friday night.
Yes, Laine could have been cleaning his stick as he skated by the Wild's bench, but it certainly looked like he was miming the playing of a violin.
If there's still any doubt, he did it again when the Jets were saluting the crowd after the final buzzer.
The 19-year-old helped orchestrate the victory Friday and is a major reason why the Jets have strung together wins in the first two games of the series.
The imposing Winnipeg Jets defenseman demolished Minnesota Wild forward Mikko Koivu with a clean, devastating check in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series Friday night.
Somehow, Koivu survived the collision.
Koivu coming back on the ice for his first shift after Byfuglien absolutely destroyed him with a hit behind the net. Tough cookie. That had to have hurt.
Perreault was originally a game-time decision. He suffered an upper-body injury in Game 1 after playing just 6:52.
His absence means rookie Jack Roslovic will make his playoff debut. The 21-year-old will occupy the left side on the Jets' third line alongside Bryan Little and Joel Armia.
In 31 games this season, Roslovic collected five goals and 14 points.
Elliott struggled in Game 1 against the Pittsburgh Penguins, giving up five goals on 19 shots in his team's 7-0 blanking, but Hakstol believes the netminder can bounce back.
"I have a high level of confidence in Brian," Hakstol said, according to NHL.com's Dan Rosen.
Following Game 1, Hakstol told reporters his gut instinct was to stick with Elliott for Game 2. On Friday, he stated that his confidence in the 33-year-old reflects Elliott's personality.
"Moose is a battler," Hakstol said. "Great pro. ... I’m confident in Brian because I know who he is as a person and who he is as an athlete."
The Flyers won't make any other lineup changes for Game 2, thus relying on the same players to put together a better effort in an effort to square the series.
