Bobby McMann-William Nylander has been a productive duo for the Leafs this season, outscoring the opposition 10-4 at five-on-five, but with Matthew Knies out for tonight, Craig Berube has opted to start McMann onto the Matthews-Marner line.
Those three have spent all of 23 five-on-five minutes with since McMann broke the league, although they have been playing together on the five-forward power-play unit since John Tavares’ injury. Max Domi has much more experience on Matthews’ wing than McMann, but Berube’s thinking concerns the mix of elements on the overall line, with McMann serving as a reasonable playing-style replacement for Knies.