Auston Matthews gets new linemates at practice ahead of his return
Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews was back at practice today and head coach Craig Berube decided to stick him on a different line.
Firstly, let's rewind to about three weeks ago when it was revealed that Matthews was going to have to take some time off.
He was only going to be out for a few games, but that few games turned into eight.
Matthews even went to Europe so that he could get some treatment for whatever was bothering him.
Today, Matthews returned to the ice and it is believed that he will get to play on Wednesday against the Florida Panthers.
As you can see below, Berube had Matthews on the second line. Instead of playing with Matthew Knies and Mitch Marner, he was out there with William Nylander and Pontus Holmberg.
Auston Matthews shares the ice with different teammates
Holmberg - Matthews - W. Nylander
Robertson - Minten - A. Nylander
Steeves - Dewar - Lorentz
Knies, Reaves, Grebenkin
Mermis - Tanev
Rielly - Ekman-Larsson
Benoit - Timmins
Hakanpää, Myers
Stolarz
Woll
One has to wonder if these will be the exact lines for tomorrow's game, or if Berube is just trying something new to see if it works.
Of course, Nylander and Matthews are a given at this point. But Holmberg is a completely different story.
No matter what, you have to appreciate the Leafs for trying new things, even when those experiments involve your captain.
Wednesday's game against the Panthers should be a good test. From there, they take on the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday.
| POLL | ||
NOVEMBRE 26 | 131 ANSWERS Auston Matthews gets new linemates at practice ahead of his return Is Auston Matthews going to have a good game against the Florida Panthers? | ||
| YES | 64 | 48.9 % |
| NO | 67 | 51.1 % |
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