Big Change Coming For Maple Leafs Lineup

It seemed to be inevitable, the way things were going. The Toronto Maple Leafs appear to be ready to split up the longtime combo of Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner. 

#Leafs lines in practice (it had to be done):
Knies-Matthews-Nylander
Bertuzzi-Tavares-Marner
Robertson-Domi-Jarnkrok
Gregor-Kampf-Reaves
McMann

— Terry Koshan 🇺🇦 (@koshtorontosun) November 27, 2023

Practice lines on Monday morning featured William Nylander moving up to slot in with Matthews and Matthew Knies on the top line, while Marner was moved down to join John Tavares and Tyler Bertuzzi. It's the first time this season that Matthews and Marner have been split up, and the two have pretty much been a staple together on the same line for years. 

Marner has just 3 points in his last 7 games, while Matthews has just one goal (and 3 points) in those 7 contests. 

"There is no doubt that Mitch hasn't found his groove yet," head coach Sheldon Keefe said on Sunday, though the star winger still has 20 points in 19 games this season. Keefe added that, in the team's 5-on-5 scoring, "at the top of the list is Mitch Marner. We'll stay building out our team and building our group but let's not pile on the negatives here." 

And yet, negatives remain. The team looked utterly uninspired in losing two games over the weekend. 

The coach had perhaps given that a bit more thought in advance of Monday's practice session, and although it's just one run-through, seems to have conceded that it's time for a different look. The Leafs are now 5th in the Atlantic Division, at 10-6-3, having won only 5 of their last 10 games. They host the Florida Panthers Tuesday night. 

Photo: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports