Whenever a coach is in a desperate situation they essential have two options: reach for what's worked before, or try to mix things up with a new approach.
With the Maple Leafs on the brink of elimination, Sheldon Keefe appears to be choosing the second option. The Toronto head coach isn't doing anything extraordinarily outside the box in Game 4, but he's opting to go with a combination of lines that favours novelty over track record.
Maple Leafs tweak top three lines:
Jarnkrok-Matthews-Marner
Kerfoot-Tavares-Nylander
Bunting-O’Reilly-Acciari— luke fox (@lukefoxjukebox) May 9, 2023
None of the top three combos have played more than 120 minutes with each other over the course of 2022-23, and Keefe needs them to click.