Nick Robertson will be a healthy scratch on Friday night, Craig Berube confirmed this morning at the team’s optional skate, per Sportsnet’s Luke Fox.

Robertson has appeared in all seven games for the Leafs so far this season, playing a consistent role in the team’s bottom six with Scott Laughton out due to an injury suffered in the preseason. The 24-year-old forward has yet to find the back of the net this season, tallying only one assist, averaging 11 minutes played a night.

In Robertson’s place, top Leafs prospect Easton Cowan is slotting back into the lineup. Cowan started the year as a healthy scratch before making his first appearance with the team on October 13th in a 3-2 loss to the Detroit Red Wings. He started in a bottom-six role before joining forces with Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies on the team’s top line. Openly stating he was having trouble keeping up with the pace of NHL play for a full 60 minutes, Berube took him out of the lineup on Tuesday for a “reset,” letting him watch for a game. Through four games, Cowan has one assist, but the 20-year-old is still searching for his first career NHL goal.

As Berube experiments with Toronto’s lineup to try and spark the offence, Cowan looks set to play on the third line alongside Dakota Joshua and Nicholas Roy, a trio that got some looks through training camp and the preseason. Roy and Joshua obviously bring size and physicality, while Cowan brings skill and the potential of some offensive production.

“(Cowan) is really competitive,” Roy said, speaking at training camp in September. “Every time he’s out there, he wants the puck. He wants to be a difference maker, so that’s obviously a plus as a young player. He’s been fun to watch.”

Cowan will look to show that compete on Friday as he comes back into the lineup to help the Leafs get back in the win column. In the absence of Chris Tanev and Morgan Rielly on the blue line, Dakota Mermis and Philippe Myers will be making their season debuts, while Anthony Stolarz handles the crease. Puck drops at 7 pm in Buffalo.