The Leafs return from the break looking to steady the season and settle into a new era behind the bench. Steve Sullivan officially takes over the Toronto Maple Leafs power play, while Craig Berube clarifies how the staff will handle decision-making. We break down how that impacts Auston Matthews, William Nylander, John Tavares and Morgan Rielly, then look at the forward lines, the defensive pairs, the Easton Cowan decision, and why this matchup with Ottawa is a must-win inside a chaotic Eastern Conference playoff race. Full lineup notes, zone-entry adjustments, power-play structure, and tonight’s goaltending matchup as Joseph Woll is expected to start.
Chapters:
00:00 Coaching changes & the Sullivan hire
00:46 Berube clarifies PP decision-making
01:23 What Sullivan means for the Leafs PP units
02:25 Matthews / Nylander / Tavares PP usage
03:10 Why Leafs–Sens is a must-win in the standings
04:21 Full line combinations for Game 37
05:29 Matthews line, Nylander line, top-six dynamics
06:13 Matthew Knies struggles & ice-time drop
07:11 Fourth-line build with Joshua–Laughton–Lafferty
08:18 Why Berube must avoid the blender tonight
09:09 Easton Cowan sitting again — and why it’s confusing
11:00 Why Cowan should be playing (NHL or Marlies)
12:20 Defensive pairs — Rielly, McCabe, Tanev, Liljegren, Myers
13:46 Concerns about Rielly–Myers minutes
15:29 Power-play units under Sullivan
16:10 Zone-entry changes vs Pittsburgh
18:42 Hybrid entry philosophy going forward
19:34 Goaltending matchup (Woll expected)
21:23 Like/subscribe outro
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19 Comments
YOu sound different; did you eat too much turkey?
They are sitting Cowen so they can play other people to shop them. They might be rewarding him financially
Easton Cowen will never be what you think he'll be, id rather shop him at the moment..
I truly wish the media and fans do recognise that Treliving is the number one issue. I earnestly hope that Leafs fans will muster the courage to refrain from purchasing tickets, as this is the only means by which we can express our frustration with having a deficient general manager, affectionately dubbed "Dumb Tree," at the helm. The Maple Leafs are the most valuable franchise in the league; how dare they eliminate the role of a president and entrust a GM of mediocre caliber like Dumb Tree to manage the team? This hiring of Sulllivan a inexperienced NHL coach to coach a totally experienced team is a born to be a disaster especially the Marlies is at the bottom of their power play this is the beginning of Dumb Tree toxic power starting to destroy the franchise inside out.
This should be a results-oriented business, with no room for excuses and the intention of the move by a GM. The facts is under Dumb Tree this team sucks. Sacrificing two first-round picks for a fourth-line defenseman who was injured prior to the trade and a fourth-line center is an unacceptable blunder, especially choice to go all in when the first-line center 34 is already had a hidden serious injury.
During the off season , a precise Dissect of the team should be ,1. With 34 hidden injuries afflicting the team, and his performance heavily dependent on 16, who lacks a viable replacement will be a serious concern of the performance from the top line while. 2. 88 has consistently been unreliable and 91 is aging, coupled with Morgan's decline over the past two years, and both goalies being prone to injuries, with these disadvantages should signal a wise and seasoned GM to recognise the team's fragility. I am astounded during the off season he believes every factors from the team are all sets and his sole focus during off season should be upgrading on the bottom six; in my experience, when a GM prioritises enhancing the bottom lines, it typically indicates a team that is a clear favourite for the Cup. What a miss calculation by Dumb Tree. Truly as a normal fans you will make such a bias view however as a GM who gets a few millions dollars of salary is totally unacceptable.
Dumb Tree is a complete joke and a disgrace. Although he wasn’t dismissed from Calgary, where the Flames continues occupies at the bottom tier of the Western Conference should have an indication of his average ability. It is imperative to fire this Dumb Tree first and appoint a general manager with a more impressive track record. Allow this new GM to make decisions regarding both coaching and player acquisitions. Dumb Tree should never act as a GM his inability to make a shift and great decision do hamper the team performance, purely assessing his performance by his past record there are numerous top players from the Flames who walk out for free because of his indecisive approach seems to waiting too long until the matter were completely rotten before he deal with them however at the moment is already too late. If Dumb Tree continues to exert influence, we may soon see the arena filled with a third of empty seats and most importantly he will completely destroy the Maple Leafs franchise inside out. Since Dumb Tree has a tendency to act ten steps behind being indecisive, when he finally realises he need to trade Matthew the value at that moment will be much lower than now because everyone knows he is completely washed , simultaneously when he finally decides to tank for the purpose of ensuring a top 5 pick to prevent Boston get a top 6-10 pick this season , it might be too late to tank. Anyway I guarantee if the MLSE don’t figure out earlier how toxic Dumb Tree and fire him immediately, as a Leafs Fan I suggest we should anticipate to root for another team because the rebuild will be triple the time under Dumb Tree leadership
I love this! If you want 34 and 88 to carry the team let em run it how they want! Let them boys Play! Defence more than capable of doing theyre job Unleash the forwards and let em Cook
I'm afraid this team is washed up, hope they prove me wrong.
Any reason McMann, Roy and Joshua are not playing together? After the run they had over a month ago?
Yeah, more blender coming soon, mark my words.
6-3 SENS!!!
Those d parings would look better if u flipped em. Oel and stecher on the top line mccabe tanev 2nd and rielly pairing with the least minutes
So much drama with this team it should be a day time soap
Steve Sullivan is a great addition. As a leaf he was the Nick Robertson of his day. Very talented and a hard worker. Unfortunately, Quinn at the time did not see his potential because he was small. When he was finally traded, he was unleashed , scored in abundance and had big years elsewhere. Hopefully, he puts Robertson on top line and top PP to unleash his potential in Toronto.
Cowan should not play over any other Leaf at this time. Good player, but Needs more time in the Minors. Myers is better on the right side than Thrun, come on.
I think Meyers is the only defenseman we have that can clear the front of our net.
As a "Cough,Cough" Leaf fan….Please Sens beat the leafs tonight…Stop with this madness….Rebuild this crappy team….My take
Leafs will pull it off tonight. Willy will unload
Loved Stevie as a Leaf! I'm that old…
So how long is Easton Cowan going to be in the press box? Great development
I know the media guys love Berube , but you’re going to let him ruin another young player . 3 straight games of Cowan sitting out . Glad to hear Zach talk about this . Completely right
5/3 Leafs!! Morgan will be on the ice each and every time Sens get a goal! Go Leafs!!