Although nothing is certain until they step on the ice for the opening game of the qualifying round against the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Toronto Maple Leafs appear to be zeroing in on a starting lineup for Game 1 of the best-of-five series on Sunday at Scotiabank Arena.
For the second practice in a row, head coach Sheldon Keefe has maintained the same line combinations and defensive pairings that played for the most part during the club’s 4-2 win over Montreal on Tuesday and is looking for his group to play more responsible in their own end while still maintaining their offensive firepower.
"In this situation with what's at stake and given that we're playing a very meaningful hockey game starting on Sunday, there's a heightened awareness and everything that you're doing." Keefe said on Thursday. "My expectation is that we'll pick it up quicker than normal. We're not gonna make any excuses here or anything like that. We've had plenty of time to practice and we're expecting our guys to be prepared to execute."
Auston Matthews is between wingers Zach Hyman and William Nylander, John Tavares centers Ilya Mikheyev and Mitch Marner, 18-year-old Nick Robertson continues on the third line with Alex Kerfoot and Kasperi Kapanen and Frederik Gauthier is in the middle of the fourth line between veterans Kyle Clifford and Jason Spezza, with Pierre Engvall as the extra forward.
On the blueline, Morgan Rielly is paired with Cody Ceci, Jake Muzzin is partnered with Justin Holl and Travis Dermott skated with Tyson Barrie, with rookie Rasmus Sandin and Martin Marincin serving as spare defenders.
One interesting appearance on the ice was Andreas Johnsson, who took part in a special teams drill for the first time. The injured winger is recovering from the surgical repair of a knee injury in March and is not expected to return to action until September, but the speedy winger being on the ice could be to give John Tortorella another thing to worry about in the days leading up to Game 1.
Keefe indicated that the bulk of their preparations for Columbus is completed but that he will observe the Blue Jackets exhibition contest against the Boston Bruins.
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