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Toronto Maple Leafs unveil underwhelming lineup against the Kings in Auston Matthews' absence
Photo credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews is out of the lineup tonight against the Los Angeles Kings, and this is very bad news for the team and its lineup.
Tonight, the Toronto Maple Leafs are going to be taking on the Los Angeles Kings, and it is not going to be pretty, especially when you consider all of the issues the team has right now.
Auston Matthews is going to be out of the lineup tonight due to a lower-body injury. The same can be said of Scott Laughton, as he continues to deal with a concussion.
Meanwhile, goaltender Anthony Stolarz is also out of the lineup. Instead, Dennis Hildeby is going to be the starter, and Artur Akhtyamov will be the backup.
Toronto Maple Leafs unveil their lineup against the Los Angeles Kings
With Matthews out of the lineup, head coach Craig Berube had to get creative with his lineup. For instance, the first line is John Tavares, William Nylander, and Matthew Knies.
The second line will consist of Max Domi, Bobby McMann, and Nick Robertson. From there, we see the likes of Dakota Joshua, Nicolas Roy, and Matias Maccelli.
Lastly, the fourth line is Sammy Blais, Steven Lorentz, and Calle Jarnkrok. Interestingly enough, Dakota Mermis is slotting in for Philippe Myers, who has been awful so far.
Knies - Tavares - Nylander
Robertson - Domi - McMann
Joshua - Roy - Maccelli
Blais - Lorentz - Jarnkrok
Rielly - Carlo
Benoit - McCabe
Mermis - Ekman-Larsson
Myers
Hildeby starts
Akhtyamov
Robertson - Domi - McMann
Joshua - Roy - Maccelli
Blais - Lorentz - Jarnkrok
Rielly - Carlo
Benoit - McCabe
Mermis - Ekman-Larsson
Myers
Hildeby starts
Akhtyamov
The Maple Leafs have lost three games in a row, and they are now at risk of losing four in a row with a depleted lineup.
With a record of 8-8-1, the Toronto Maple Leafs simply do not have very much wiggle room in the Atlantic Division standings right now, and that could prove to be a problem for them.
Either way, every single player will need to come through with a major effort if they want any chance of winning tonight.
| POLL | ||
NOVEMBRE 13 | 472 ANSWERS Toronto Maple Leafs unveil underwhelming lineup against the Kings in Auston Matthews' absence Do you believe the Toronto Maple Leafs will win tonight without Auston Matthews in the lineup? | ||
| YES | 172 | 36.4 % |
| NO | 300 | 63.6 % |
| List of polls | ||
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