The Toronto Maple Leafs won their third game of the preseason, and it would appear they might have a new line building some chemistry.

The line of Scott Laughton, Steven Lorentz, and Easton Cowan finished the night with a combined eight points. Four of them came from Laughton, who scored a pair of nice goals and added a pair of assists. Both of those assists came on goals from his linemate, Steven Lorentz, who picked up an assist of his own. Cowan completed the job on the stat sheet with an assist on a goal from defenceman Matt Benning.

You have to make the obligatory ‘it’s preseason’ disclaimer when evaluating anybody’s performance in the exhibition games, but Laughton looked a lot more like the type of player the Leafs thought they were acquiring at the 2025 trade deadline in Thursday night’s victory. He was tenacious on the forecheck, solid on the penalty kill, and played with the type of confidence that allows him to drive the net and play the style of game that makes him most effective.

It was Cowan’s third appearance in three preseason games, which speaks volumes about how he’s viewed by head coach Craig Berube. The fact that he’s getting a look with two players who were a staple together in the playoffs for the Leafs last season bodes well for his odds of cracking the team out of training camp and at least starting the season in the NHL. If he makes it, it will be an entirely new test for him to be lining up against full-strength NHL teams, but he made a good case for it against the Canadiens in this game.

Also deserving of some props is Matias Maccelli, who picked up another two assists to give him four in two preseason games played so far. He was one of the best players for the Leafs tonight and continued to preach his case for a spot on the top line with Auston Matthews.

The Maple Leafs will host the Canadiens on Saturday night and look to sweep the preseason series.