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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.
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