Toronto Maple Leafs projected lines against Detroit spell trouble for Auston Matthews
Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews has been dealing with a nagging upper-body injury and it would appear as though he is absent vs. the Detroit Red Wings.
Since the very start of the NHL season, Auston Matthews has been missing a step and as it turns out, it is all because of a nagging upper-body injury.
Auston Matthews and the Toronto Maple Leafs experience pain
After missing three weeks, the captain returned to the lineup, only to re-aggravate his injury against the Buffalo Sabres.
There has been quite a bit of debate surrounding how the Toronto Maple Leafs should handle this injury to Matthews.
However, if there is one thing for certain here, it is that it is best to keep the captain rested so that he is good to go for the playoffs.
Having said that, it should come as no surprise that he is not projected to be in the lineup for the Leafs as they take on the Detroit Red Wings tonight.
Knies-Homberg-Nylander
McMann-Domi-Robertson
Lorentz-Kampf-Dewar
-
Reaves
Rielly-Myers
McCabe-Tanev
OEL-Benoit
-
Timmins
Overall, these lines are a bit disjointed when you really think about it.
After all, having Pacioretty as the top left winger is not ideal, while Pontus Holmberg has been placed on the second line as the center to Matthew Knies and William Nylander.
The only two lines that have remained in tact are the bottom six, which certainly makes sense given recent results.
These past two games were not kind to the Maple Leafs as they have lost two in a row.
With the Washington Capitals coming up on Saturday, the Leafs need to win tonight, otherwise, they risk a four-game losing skid head into the week of the New Year.
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 27 | 136 ANSWERS Toronto Maple Leafs projected lines against Detroit spell trouble for Auston Matthews Do you believe the Toronto Maple Leafs will sit Auston Matthews until after the New Year? | ||
| YES | 123 | 90.4 % |
| NO | 13 | 9.6 % |
| List of polls | ||
