Mitch Marner return forces the Leafs to make intriguing lineup change

The Toronto Maple Leafs are getting healthy at the right time of year with Mitch Marner coming back, and it's forced them into an interesting lineup change.

Even without Mitch Marner in the lineup due to injury, the Toronto Maple Leafs have continued rolling, and now, his return has presented Head Coach Sheldon Keefe with some interesting options.

With Marner's return expected for this weekend, the Maple Leafs have certainly used practice as an opportunity to trial some unique lines that we've not seen from this team before. Surprisingly, Marner was not on a line with Auston Matthews upon return, as he took up his place alongside John Tavares and Bobby McMann on the second line, pushing William Nylander to the third line alongside Matthew Knies and Pontus Holmberg.




Beyond that, much of the lineup looks the same, with the defense still trying to get set ahead of the playoffs, while Ilya Samsonov appears to be set as the teams No. 1 goaltender moving forward. We will see whether or not this is the lineup when the team battle the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday, but if deepening the lineup line this by separating Marner/Matthews works, this could be a masterstroke from Sheldon Keefe.

Source: Maple Leafs Daily

Maple Leafs shuffle lines ahead of Mitch Marner's imminent return