Forward Max Domi and defenceman Jake McCabe joined the rest of the Toronto Maple Leafs skaters for practice on Monday afternoon in New Jersey.
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Jake McCabe and Max Domi have joined Maple Leafs in New Jersey for practice. (No Bobby McMann.)
&mdash; luke fox (@lukefoxjukebox) <a href="https://twitter.com/lukefoxjukebox/status/1866188466309988811?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 9, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Both players are eligible to be removed from injured reserve at any time, and reports have recently emerged that they could be activated for Tuesday&#8217;s game against the New Jersey Devils. Head coach Craig Berube confirmed that Domi&#8217;s return is probable but did not go further than that.
Should that be the case expect the team to make some roster moves with the likely candidates to be sent down being Nikita Grebenkin and Marshall Rifai.
Domi should help provide a boost to the offensive depth of the team, especially in the wake of concerns that there hasn&#8217;t been much scoring support for the top half of the lineup. Granted, Domi hasn&#8217;t helped much in that department to this point as he was mired in a lengthy scoring drought before going on the shelf but perhaps a reset to recover will help get him going.
McCabe&#8217;s absence has been felt this week as the Leafs have struggled defensively in comparison to when he was in the lineup. While Philippe Myers has done the best he could to fill in, getting McCabe back in the mix will be a significant boost for the shutdown pair and the rest of the backend.
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Leafs PP Units, 
PP1: Marner, Matthews, Tavares, W.Nylander, Knies. 
PP2: Rielly OEL, Domi, Minten, Pacioretty. <a href="https://twitter.com/BodogCA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BodogCA</a>
&mdash; David Alter (@dalter) <a href="https://twitter.com/dalter/status/1866194748760817952?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 9, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Bobby McMann was not on the ice for practice and it is unclear if he was with the team on the road trip. He wasn&#8217;t slated to be back in the lineup for Tuesday&#8217;s game anyway but it is something worth monitoring.
As Domi is on track to return, the power play units have seen some adjustments with him going onto the second unit alongside Morgan Rielly, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Fraser Minten, and Max Pacioretty. The five-forward first-unit remains intact which had flashes of strong play combined with sequences that left a lot to be desired (ie the 6-on-4 at the end of Saturday&#8217;s game).
While their penalty kill currently sits inside the top 10 in the NHL, their power play is below average at 20% efficiency which is not going to cut it given the amount of offensive firepower they have on display. There is also the issue of a lack of discipline from the Leafs which would partially be connected to their man-advantage unit not getting it done.
Here are the lines used at practice via <a href="https://x.com/dalter/status/1866191079449501963" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Hockey News&#8217; David Alter</a>:
Forwards
Max Pacioretty-Auston Matthews-Mitch Marner
Max Domi/Matthew Knies-John Tavares-William Nylander
Pontus Holmberg-Fraser Minten-Alex Nylander/Nick Robertson
Steven Lorentz-Connor Dewar-Ryan Reaves/Nikita Grebenkin
Defence
Morgan Rielly-Philippe Myers
Oliver Ekman-Larsson- Chris Tanev
Simon Benoit-Conor Timmins
Jake McCabe-Marshall Rifai
Goalies
Anthony Stolarz
Joseph Woll
The lines for the most part don&#8217;t tell how they will look for tomorrow&#8217;s game against the Devils apart from the top line of Matthews, Marner, and Pacioretty. Given that Domi and McCabe have not been officially activated from IR, Berube appears to be covering his bases with all of these jumbled combinations to prepare for the possibility that neither is ready.
One other thing that is apparent is that Anthony Stolarz is slated to get the nod as was planned in the rotation. He is coming off a strong showing in their loss to the Washington Capitals where he kept the Leafs in the game for as long as he could with the only two goals he surrendered being fluky bounces.

Forward Max Domi and defenceman Jake McCabe joined the rest of the Toronto Maple Leafs skaters for practice on Monday afternoon in New Jersey.

https://twitter.com/lukefoxjukebox/status/1866188466309988811

Both players are eligible to be removed from injured reserve at any time, and reports have recently emerged that they could be activated for Tuesday's game against the New Jersey Devils. Head coach Craig Berube confirmed that Domi's return is probable but did not go further than that.

Should that be the case expect the team to make some roster moves with the likely candidates to be sent down being Nikita Grebenkin and Marshall Rifai.

Domi should help provide a boost to the offensive depth of the team, especially in the wake of concerns that there hasn't been much scoring support for the top half of the lineup. Granted, Domi hasn't helped much in that department to this point as he was mired in a lengthy scoring drought before going on the shelf but perhaps a reset to recover will help get him going.

McCabe's absence has been felt this week as the Leafs have struggled defensively in comparison to when he was in the lineup. While Philippe Myers has done the best he could to fill in, getting McCabe back in the mix will be a significant boost for the shutdown pair and the rest of the backend.

https://twitter.com/dalter/status/1866194748760817952

Bobby McMann was not on the ice for practice and it is unclear if he was with the team on the road trip. He wasn't slated to be back in the lineup for Tuesday's game anyway but it is something worth monitoring.

As Domi is on track to return, the power play units have seen some adjustments with him going onto the second unit alongside Morgan Rielly, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Fraser Minten, and Max Pacioretty. The five-forward first-unit remains intact which had flashes of strong play combined with sequences that left a lot to be desired (ie the 6-on-4 at the end of Saturday's game).

While their penalty kill currently sits inside the top 10 in the NHL, their power play is below average at 20% efficiency which is not going to cut it given the amount of offensive firepower they have on display. There is also the issue of a lack of discipline from the Leafs which would partially be connected to their man-advantage unit not getting it done.

Here are the lines used at practice via <a href="https://x.com/dalter/status/1866191079449501963" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Hockey News' David Alter</a>:

Forwards

Max Pacioretty-Auston Matthews-Mitch Marner

Max Domi/Matthew Knies-John Tavares-William Nylander

Pontus Holmberg-Fraser Minten-Alex Nylander/Nick Robertson

Steven Lorentz-Connor Dewar-Ryan Reaves/Nikita Grebenkin

Defence

Morgan Rielly-Philippe Myers

Oliver Ekman-Larsson- Chris Tanev

Simon Benoit-Conor Timmins

Jake McCabe-Marshall Rifai

Goalies

Anthony Stolarz

Joseph Woll

The lines for the most part don't tell how they will look for tomorrow's game against the Devils apart from the top line of Matthews, Marner, and Pacioretty. Given that Domi and McCabe have not been officially activated from IR, Berube appears to be covering his bases with all of these jumbled combinations to prepare for the possibility that neither is ready.

One other thing that is apparent is that Anthony Stolarz is slated to get the nod as was planned in the rotation. He is coming off a strong showing in their loss to the Washington Capitals where he kept the Leafs in the game for as long as he could with the only two goals he surrendered being fluky bounces.

Leafs Practice Notes: Domi and McCabe participate, McMann absent, Stolarz projected to start

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