Philippe Myers and Tanev switched places in the top four defense pairings at practice on Thursday.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are shaking things up defensively as they prepare to face the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night. Specifically, the Leafs showed a Morgan Rielly and Chris Tanev defense pairing at Thursday morning’s practice – a highly anticipated reunion from the beginning of the season.
Rielly and Tanev, who were expected to log heavy minutes together when the right-handed veteran signed a six-year, $27 million contract with Toronto in the offseason, started the year as a unit but were split up after early experiments. Thursday’s practice marked the first time in months the two were placed back together, driven by both strategic needs and the challenges presented by the Hurricanes’ balanced attack.
Head coach Craig Berube explained his reasoning after practice.
“I think a lot of that is their lineup,” Berube said. “They're pretty spread out in three lines, you know. So I think we need some balance with our D-pairs tonight going against them. They've got some good skill in each line, with size.”
The reshuffling has Philippe Myers and Tanev switching places in the top four with Myers now paired with Oliver Ekman-Larsson on his right side. Jake McCabe remains sidelined with an upper-body injury, missing his second consecutive game while on injured reserve. Without McCabe, the Leafs have had to tweak their defensive combinations to find the right balance.
Rielly spoke about the reunion with Tanev and the adjustments the team has made in light of McCabe's absence.
“Yeah, I think we want to play well together,” Rielly explained. “Move the puck and not spend too much time in the D-zone. When there’s D that is out (McCabe), you know, you can shift it around. You play different guys tonight. With me and Chris, we want to play well and, you know, be strong defensively. Move the puck quick and be ready to play.”
The move is timely, as the Maple Leafs have enjoyed a five-game winning streak entering Thursday’s contest, with only one game in that span where they’ve allowed more than two goals against. The club is aiming to maintain that defensively sound structure in Carolina.
Pacioretty and Reaves Out, Robertson and Holmberg In
In addition to the defensive adjustments, the forward group also sees some tinkering.
Nick Robertson draws back into the lineup on the left side of the third line, replacing 36-year-old Max Pacioretty. Robertson has played 34 games this season compared to Pacioretty’s 29, with the latter missing an opportunity to face one of his former teams.
Also, Pontus Holmberg looks to be returning from an illness, inserting himself back into the lineup on the fourth line with enforcer Ryan Reaves sitting in his place.
Similar to the defensive adjustments, the changes up front against the fifth-place Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference were driven by strategy. Berube specifically highlighted speed as the primary factor behind the new look.
“Just a little more speed tonight,” Berube emphasized. “It's going to be a fast game. And I wanted, you know, like we talked about it before where guys sit out, want to get him back in. Holmer' been out for a bit. You know, he was sick and then, you know, he's back now. But, and so I wanted to make that switch.”
