BOSTON — Craig Berube is bringing out the blender up front and on the back end as his Toronto Maple Leafs return to the site of last spring’s Game 7 playoff defeat amid a two-game losing skid.
Philippe Myers — the six-foot-five, 219-pound, right-shot defenceman — will make his long-awaited Leafs debut Saturday, slotting in on the third pair in place of Conor Timmins.
“He came in a camp and earned a spot,” Berube said, following morning skate at Boston’s TD Garden. “He played physical. He was good on the penalty kill. He was defending very well back there. He’s a big guy. Just a simple game, but hard to play against, is the best way I can put it.”
The 27-year-old Myers, who has 158 games of NHL experience, has been biding his time as a healthy scratch and his physical play will be welcome against an angry Boston Bruins group.
Up front, a healed-up Max Pacioretty is ready to go after missing Thursday’s loss to St. Louis with a lower-body injury.
Pontus Holmberg will be scratched for the first time this season.
Berube is also juggling his top-four defence group, who have been dinged up for a whack of goals against this week.
Offensively gifted lefties Morgan Rielly and Oliver Ekman-Larsson will link up, with the latter playing his off side.
And the more defensively sound and rugged Jake McCabe and Chris Tanev should be tasked for as many shifts against the dynamic David Pastrnak as possible.
The pairing tweak shifts lefty McCabe to his strong side.
“McCabe and Tanev, it’s a good shutdown pair,” Berube said. “They’re both good defensively and physical and hard to play against.”
“Honestly, throughout a game even, I’m hopping back and forth from right to left,” he said. “It’s pretty seamless at this point.”
The injured Jani Hakanpää and Connor Dewar have joined Toronto for this two-game trip to stay sharp. Both are nearing full health and will be eligible to return in November.
It’s interesting that righty Timothy Liljegren has been passed over by Myers. Liljegren will have appeared in just one of the Leafs’ first nine games and makes $3 million.
“Well, right now it’s a little bit of a numbers game. I know I threw him in there for a game, and it’s hard with one game,” Berube said. “He’s got to be patient right now. That’s just the way it is. We make decisions as a staff and an organization for what we feel is best at the time. So, he’s working on this game. He’s working, and he’ll get another opportunity.”
Just as the Maple Leafs have an opportunity to claw a small slice of revenge for what happened the last time they faced the Bruins.
“They’re going to come out hard. They always do,” Berube warned of the opposition. “They’re a very good team, and lot of history with these two teams, as you guys know. So, I expect a hard game from both teams.”
Anthony Stolarz gets the start for Toronto. Jeremy Swayman will be in the Boston net.
Maple Leafs projected lineup Saturday in Boston:
Knies – Matthews – Marner
McMann – Domi – Nylander
Pacioretty – Tavares – Robertson
Lorentz – Kämpf – Reaves
Rielly – Ekman-Larsson
McCabe – Tanev
Benoit – Myers
Stolarz starts
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