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The Toronto Maple Leafs enjoyed great success in the month of February, winning all eight games at Air Canada Centre, but the club has slowed down without Auston Matthews in the lineup, losing three straight on the road and putting forth a poor effort in a 5-2 loss to the Washington Capitals in Annapolis, MD on Saturday.
The Leafs will mix up their lineup in hopes of getting back on track against the Buffalo Sabres at Key Bank Center on Monday. It will be the first of four meetings between Toronto and their Atlantic Division rival, who is without top center Jack Eichel and at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings.
Mike Babcock putting his troops through a vigorous practice in Buffalo after a 5-2 loss to the Capitals on Saturday. #Leafs pic.twitter.com/C4LrQC6RoP
— Michael Augello (@MikeInBuffalo) March 4, 2018
After getting pushed around physically by Tom Wilson and by the Caps in general on Saturday, the Leafs held an energetic practice on Sunday morning and made a couple of reassignments in their lines.
William Nylander skated up the middle between Zach Hyman and Connor Brown, Kasperi Kapanen replaced Brown with James van Riemsdyk and Tyler Bozak and newcomer Tomas Plekanec returned to centering the fourth line.
Matt Martin split time with Dominic Moore on the wing and on Monday, Babcock indicated that the big winger would return to the lineup for the first time since January 22nd, playing alongside Plekanec and Leo Komarov.
“It’s been awhile since I played a game, so I’m excited to get back.… Martin said after Monday’s optional morning skate. “(I hope) to keep it simple early and just try to get the feel for the pace of everything again and hopefully I can have a good game tonight.…
Martin was a healthy scratch for 17 games and the Leafs went 13-2-2 in that stretch.
Connor Carrick takes his turn in the bottom pairing defensive rotation with rookie Travis Dermott, with veteran Roman Polak sitting and Frederik Andersen gets the start after being pulled for the first time this season on Saturday.
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The Leafs have been in the odd position of playing the most games in the NHL for most of 2018. The club plays game #68 on Monday, while half the league has played just 66 games.
Toronto’s light March schedule will allow most of the league to catch up. After Monday, the club has four full days off before taking on the Pittsburgh Penguins at home on Saturday and then another three days off before back-to-back games against the Dallas Stars and their return to Buffalo against the Sabres.
The games played imbalance is the primary reason why the Leafs are not expected to overtake Boston for second place in the Atlantic. The Bruins are not only three points ahead of Toronto, they have four games in hand on the Leafs. The Florida Panthers are fourth in the division and have won six games in a row. Even though they have played only 63 games, the Leafs are currently 15 points ahead in the race for the final automatic playoff spot in the division.
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