The Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators are squaring off in Game 6 of their first-round series on Thursday night. Toronto has lost its first two chances to close out Ottawa. They have to head back to the Capital City for their third attempt. Even with a 3-0 lead dwindling to 3-2, Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube is not making any lineup changes.
“I don’t want to change too much. I think there’s been a lot of good,” Berube said, per TSN’s Chris Johnston.
The Maple Leafs lost Game 4 in overtime thanks to a Jake Sanderson goal. There was very little panic after that game, considering the Leafs were in it until the end. But Tuesday’s 4-0 loss was lifeless, and looked all too familiar to Toronto’s prior playoff collapses. Berube was brought in for exactly this moment. He is deciding not to panic ahead of Game 6.
At the end of the broadcast, the television camera lingered on young goaltender Joseph Woll. Television producers don’t know any more than the fans do, but that shot of the goalie in a baseball cap asked all the questions fans were asking without saying a word. But Berube is sticking with Anthony Stolarz, who got the Maple Leafs to this place.
What other changes could the Maple Leafs make?
The only lineup change Berube has made so far was taking Nick Robertson out after the first two games and putting Max Pacioretty in. Robertson picked up an assist, but neither player has scored a goal in the five games. Many thought the Maple Leafs may turn to the younger Robertson with the series slipping away. Paccioretty is likely to be in the lineup on Thursday, given Berube’s comments.
The reason Berube was hired by the Maple Leafs was because of his playoff success. While he led the Blues to the Stanley Cup Final, they faced a ton of adversity. They were in the basement on New Year’s, flew into the playoffs, faced two Game 7s, and won the Stanley Cup on the road. In its last 14 elimination games, Toronto is 1-13. They need a steady hand to lead them deep into the playoffs.
The Maple Leafs will have supporters in the building in Ottawa on Thursday night. Their arena was tense on Tuesday, and will be lacking oxygen if there is a Game 7 on Saturday. Berube is rolling out the lineup that got him the series lead for Game 6. Will they pull through with the win?
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