<p>Change for the sake of change gets a bad rap. Don&#8217;t scorch the earth because change is needed but a gentle acknowledgement that the status quo is failing can be a helpful wakeup call and potential light some fires under the right asses. When it comes to fires under asses in the Toronto Maple Leafs locker room, Craig Berube better damn well be an arsonist. In the spirit of trying something different, here are a few moves worth considering in advance of Game Six.</p>
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<h2>Put Joseph Woll in net</h2>
<p>This by no means in a condemnation of Anthony Stolarz. He was absolutely the right choice for Game 1, and through Game 3, was a critical part of the Leafs&#8217; victories. While his success might have wavered in the two losses, by no means is anyone in their right mind assigning blame in his direction.</p>
<p>That said, Anthony Stolarz is very much a tandem goaltender when it comes to workload, and the Leafs have a very good second part of that tandem sitting on their bench. There is a benefit to rest for Stolarz, and there is a benefit to getting Woll involved in this series. Goaltenders have to prove themselves and make the decision over who starts, which is a benefit and not a bug. If the intention is to go back to Stolarz in the second round (the reasonable thing to do), it&#8217;s worth acknowledging that the Leafs failed to win at key times to get him some rest before those games start. Using Woll to get Stolarz rest for the second round or Game Seven is a luxury that Berube should take advantage of.</p>
<h2>The Max Pacioretty experiment is over</h2>
<p>Max Pacioretty has been a prolific hitter in the three games he&#8217;s played in this series. He has 16 hits, which is good for third on the team in the playoffs behind only McMann (19) and Benoit (17). The problem is that of those hits, I can maybe only remember one of them, and similar to the hit counts from McMann and Benoit, these hits are mostly a result of chasing the play.</p>
<p>Pacioretty has looked slow and out of place. His hitting might be somewhat helpful, but he is a Leaf for the purpose of providing a secondary scoring threat. He&#8217;s definitely not that player anymore, and as a result, the unfortunate Domi and McMann line is looking even worse than when Nick Robertson was riding shotgun.</p>
<p>Getting Pacioretty out in favour of either Robertson&#8217;s return or bringing in a speedier, defensive-minded option like Kampf makes sense, and given that the bottom six isn&#8217;t producing offence anyway, it&#8217;s hard to say that Kampf can&#8217;t provide what the rest do.</p>
<h2>Put Knies with Tavares and McMann with Matthews</h2>
<p>The most consistent line for the Maple Leafs has been the Tavares line, and if there is a Leafs&#8217; core four forward that will likely respond well after the Game Five loss, it&#8217;s probably William Nylander. With that duo already working, it seems like putting Matthew Knies with them at 5v5 gives the Leafs what feels like a new top line and sends Matthews and Marner a message that they need to figure themselves out.</p>
<p>Bobby McMann seems like the right forward to help them figure themselves out. Putting Max Domi or Pontus Holmberg on the Tavares line seems like an exercise in watering them down, and while by no means has McMann looked deserving of a promotion in this series, it is clear that at least some of that comes from not having the best fit for linemates and he does come with a better track record when given opportunities in the top units.</p>
<p>Putting Holmberg back into the bottom six also seems like an opportunity to try a shot-suppressing, neutral-zone clogging option in the bottom six if David Kampf comes in. Or he can be a responsible 200-foot, capable puck-carrying option if Craig Berube were to reunite Domi and Robertson.</p>
<h2>Sitting Domi</h2>
<p>An overtime winner buys a lot of lineup card capital, but it seems like Domi has spent through all his OT hero goodwill and is now back to looking like the square peg that will never find its fit in the Leafs lineup card.</p>
<p>While it is unlikely that Berube is ready to axe Domi from the lineup, finding ways to limit his role seems beneficial, possibly placing him on the fourth line and either trotting him out as an energy option or specifically putting him into offensive zone situations where he might have something to add.</p>
<p>Domi has frequently found himself pinned in his own zone after benefiting from offensive zone starts. If this is the case for him, it is next to impossible to see what of value he can bring to the Leafs. Pushing down to easier competition or a heavily sheltered role might help, but taking both Pacioretty and Domi out and giving Kampf and Robertson a chance as fresh options seems like a low-risk way of exploring what can work for the bottom-six forward group.</p>
<p>As part of sitting Domi or reducing his role, there is an opportunity to see what Laughton could do if given Domi&#8217;s situation to work with. Laughton as a Leaf hasn&#8217;t been great, but generally speaking, he has done more with less in this series than Domi has and while Craig Berube likely sees the fourth line as something that is working, keeping together a fourth line at the expense of the top nine doesn&#8217;t make sense. Simple things like giving Laughton shifts in the top six, like the shifts given to Domi late in Game 5, should at least warrant some consideration.</p>
<p>Lineup chances are a drop in the bucket, and more than anything else, an opportunity to send a message that the effort/performance/results of the last two games won&#8217;t cut it in the playoffs and that the bar needs to be set higher for a second round. One of the advantages the Leafs have enjoyed throughout the year is their depth and the ability to play the hot hands. With a number of hands in the Leafs being ice cold, trying something different doesn&#8217;t carry much risk.</p>
<p><strong>Sponsored by bet365</strong></p>
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Change for the sake of change gets a bad rap. Don't scorch the earth because change is needed but a gentle acknowledgement that the status quo is failing can be a helpful wakeup call and potential light some fires under the right asses. When it comes to fires under asses in the Toronto Maple Leafs locker room, Craig Berube better damn well be an arsonist. In the spirit of trying something different, here are a few moves worth considering in advance of Game Six.
<div class="bam-inline-promotion-block" data-max-length="2" data-placement-id="2106" data-context="web-content-promocard" data-property-id="324"></div>
<h2>Put Joseph Woll in net</h2>
This by no means in a condemnation of Anthony Stolarz. He was absolutely the right choice for Game 1, and through Game 3, was a critical part of the Leafs' victories. While his success might have wavered in the two losses, by no means is anyone in their right mind assigning blame in his direction.

That said, Anthony Stolarz is very much a tandem goaltender when it comes to workload, and the Leafs have a very good second part of that tandem sitting on their bench. There is a benefit to rest for Stolarz, and there is a benefit to getting Woll involved in this series. Goaltenders have to prove themselves and make the decision over who starts, which is a benefit and not a bug. If the intention is to go back to Stolarz in the second round (the reasonable thing to do), it's worth acknowledging that the Leafs failed to win at key times to get him some rest before those games start. Using Woll to get Stolarz rest for the second round or Game Seven is a luxury that Berube should take advantage of.
<h2>The Max Pacioretty experiment is over</h2>
Max Pacioretty has been a prolific hitter in the three games he's played in this series. He has 16 hits, which is good for third on the team in the playoffs behind only McMann (19) and Benoit (17). The problem is that of those hits, I can maybe only remember one of them, and similar to the hit counts from McMann and Benoit, these hits are mostly a result of chasing the play.

Pacioretty has looked slow and out of place. His hitting might be somewhat helpful, but he is a Leaf for the purpose of providing a secondary scoring threat. He's definitely not that player anymore, and as a result, the unfortunate Domi and McMann line is looking even worse than when Nick Robertson was riding shotgun.

Getting Pacioretty out in favour of either Robertson's return or bringing in a speedier, defensive-minded option like Kampf makes sense, and given that the bottom six isn't producing offence anyway, it's hard to say that Kampf can't provide what the rest do.
<h2>Put Knies with Tavares and McMann with Matthews</h2>
The most consistent line for the Maple Leafs has been the Tavares line, and if there is a Leafs' core four forward that will likely respond well after the Game Five loss, it's probably William Nylander. With that duo already working, it seems like putting Matthew Knies with them at 5v5 gives the Leafs what feels like a new top line and sends Matthews and Marner a message that they need to figure themselves out.

Bobby McMann seems like the right forward to help them figure themselves out. Putting Max Domi or Pontus Holmberg on the Tavares line seems like an exercise in watering them down, and while by no means has McMann looked deserving of a promotion in this series, it is clear that at least some of that comes from not having the best fit for linemates and he does come with a better track record when given opportunities in the top units.

Putting Holmberg back into the bottom six also seems like an opportunity to try a shot-suppressing, neutral-zone clogging option in the bottom six if David Kampf comes in. Or he can be a responsible 200-foot, capable puck-carrying option if Craig Berube were to reunite Domi and Robertson.
<h2>Sitting Domi</h2>
An overtime winner buys a lot of lineup card capital, but it seems like Domi has spent through all his OT hero goodwill and is now back to looking like the square peg that will never find its fit in the Leafs lineup card.

While it is unlikely that Berube is ready to axe Domi from the lineup, finding ways to limit his role seems beneficial, possibly placing him on the fourth line and either trotting him out as an energy option or specifically putting him into offensive zone situations where he might have something to add.

Domi has frequently found himself pinned in his own zone after benefiting from offensive zone starts. If this is the case for him, it is next to impossible to see what of value he can bring to the Leafs. Pushing down to easier competition or a heavily sheltered role might help, but taking both Pacioretty and Domi out and giving Kampf and Robertson a chance as fresh options seems like a low-risk way of exploring what can work for the bottom-six forward group.

As part of sitting Domi or reducing his role, there is an opportunity to see what Laughton could do if given Domi's situation to work with. Laughton as a Leaf hasn't been great, but generally speaking, he has done more with less in this series than Domi has and while Craig Berube likely sees the fourth line as something that is working, keeping together a fourth line at the expense of the top nine doesn't make sense. Simple things like giving Laughton shifts in the top six, like the shifts given to Domi late in Game 5, should at least warrant some consideration.

Lineup chances are a drop in the bucket, and more than anything else, an opportunity to send a message that the effort/performance/results of the last two games won't cut it in the playoffs and that the bar needs to be set higher for a second round. One of the advantages the Leafs have enjoyed throughout the year is their depth and the ability to play the hot hands. With a number of hands in the Leafs being ice cold, trying something different doesn't carry much risk.

<strong>Sponsored by bet365</strong>
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