TORONTO, ON - OCTOBER 7: Shawn Matthias #23 of the Toronto Maple Leafs battles with P.K. Subban #76 of the Montreal Canadiens during NHL game action October 7, 2015 at Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Graig Abel/NHLI via Getty Images)
Advertisement

With James van Riemsdyk out six to eight weeks due to a fractured foot, today’s practice lines have Shawn Matthias moving back beside Tyler Bozak and PA Parenteau.

Matthias’ hottest stretch of the season came alongside Bozak and Parenteau, with four points in five games between November 10 and 17.

Matthias recored two points in his next seven on the line, and after the Leafs lost five of six games between November 23 and December 3, he was moved down onto primarily the fourth unit.

Currently on a six-goal, 24-point pace, the Leafs will be hoping Matthias, on an expiring contract, hits a hot streak before the February 29 deadline.

One other option here — there are several and there will likely will be experimentation, as the Leafs will be without JVR for up to two months — is moving Joffrey Lupul up a line and onto the wing of two more offensively-inclined players.

After a strong start goal-scoring-wise (seven goals in his first 18 games), Lupul has just four points in his last 23 and one point in his last 13 games. He played just 11:30 — second lowest on the team, just a few seconds more than Frank Corrado — in the blowout loss to San Jose.

Babcock has preferred to keep Lupul on his strong side (right wing) rather than his preferred left wing for the most part, however.

Leivo and Froese have some familiarity with one at the AHL level from last season. It appears Leivo will be given a few offensive looks by way of the powerplay, where he’ll be expected to supply the net-front presence lost with JvR’s absence.

Onto the news and links:

Previous articleToronto Marlies Week In Review: January 11
Next articleThe Leaf: Blueprint Episode 4
MLHS Staff
Founded in 2008, Maple Leafs Hotstove (MLHS) has grown to be the most visited independent team-focused hockey website online (Quantcast). Independently owned and operated, MLHS provides thorough and wide-ranging content, varying from news, opinion and analysis, to pre-game and long-form game reviews, and a weekly feature piece entitled "Leafs Notebook." MLHS has been cited by: ESPN, Sports Illustrated, CBC News, USA Today, Fox Sports, Yahoo! Sports, NBC Sports, TSN, Sportsnet, Grantland, CTV News, CBSSports, The Globe & Mail, The National Post, The Toronto Star, The Toronto Sun, Global News, Huffington Post, and many more.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR