Do Maple Leafs Dare Bench a Near 30-Goal Guy to Start Playoffs?
Would the Toronto Maple Leafs really bench one of their better depth scorers, Nick Robertson, to start this season’s playoffs?
Every team has to make tough choices in the playoffs. Some clubs are so deep that sitting deserving players is a reality, and the Toronto Maple Leafs are not immune to that situation. NHL analyst Justin Bourne of Sportsnet recently suggested the team might be leaving a near 30-goal NHL scorer in Nick Robertson out of their post-season lineup to start this season’s playoff run.
Over the course of his NHL career, Nick Robertson has scored 29 goals. He’s had issues with consistency, but he’s played relatively few games with only 149 regular-season contests on his NHL resume. He has 12 goals this season, and he can score. But that might not be enough.
Bourne believes Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube will go with someone with more size and physicality, which would make Roberston a healthy scratch.
Who Plays Game 1 for the Maple Leafs If Not Nick Robertson?
Bourne said he couldn’t find a reason to choose Robertson over other options. He explained this during the Real Kyper & Bourne show on March 26:
“Every time I make a lineup, like this is what it looks like, it doesn’t have Robertson in it, and I like Robertson. I think I have been fairly Robertson praising this year, but it is tough for me to see that spot in Game 1.”
Instead, Bourne thinks the Leafs will go with someone like Pontus Holmberg. Describing him as someone “heavy”, Bourne said he competes, he forchecks, he hits. Nick Kypreos seemed to agree. He added, “Unfortunately for Robertson… heart of gold, skates really fast, never quits on pucks… bounces off of a people a lot.”
Bourne did admit the scratching wouldn’t be permanent. “I would be shocked if you don’t see Nick Robertson in Game 3, likely Game 2, but I don’t think he will be there in Game 1.”
Sam McKee argued that Robertson has earned his way out of the scratch rotations and the Maple Leafs are desperate for additional scoring from anyone other than their stars. “Who else in the bottom six is a threat?” quipped McKee
Maple Leafs’ Coach Reveals Load-Management Plan for Auston Matthews & Mitch Marner
Toronto Maple Leafs stars Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner were notably absent from Friday’s optional skate following Thursday’s 6–5 loss to the NHL-worst San Jose Sharks. Toronto rallied late against the Sharks, erasing a two-goal deficit in the final minute to force overtime, but ultimately fell in the shootout. Leafs head coach Craig Berube, however, explained their absence by highlighting the heavy workload the two forwards had endured the day before, both logging over 25 minutes. “The minutes got a little high,” Berube said. “With the state of the game and where we were at-Max [Domi] was in the [penalty] box, too, and wasn’t available-I played our skilled guys a lot down the stretch to try to tie the game up.” #Leafs practice is underway, being run by associate coach Lane Lambert. Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner are not taking part. Told it’s optional for them after the minutes they logged.
After Matthews and Marner spent extended shifts trying to lead the team to a much-needed win in the race for the Atlantic Division, they failed to capitalize in overtime or the shootout.
Berube emphasized that while winning remains the priority, load management and properly handling minutes and workloads will be key moving forward. “I don’t want their minutes to get that high,” Berube said. “But every game is different. I want to win games, and so do they. It’s not like they haven’t done that before, you know? “They rest today, get ready for tomorrow.” Matthews had not played more than 22 minutes since he did against the Sharks on March 3, in another shootout loss to San Jose.
Meanwhile, Marner had only topped 23 minutes once between that March 3 game and Thursday’s match. The Maple Leafs have 10 games remaining in their regular-season schedule, including two matchups against the division leaders, the Florida Panthers. Toronto (43-25-4) fell to the second place in the Atlantic Division following the Panthers’ (44-25-3) win on Friday, now sitting one point behind Florida in the standings and one above the Tampa Bay Lightining.
