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Los Angeles — The list of underachieving Toronto Maple Leafs is so long, head coach Paul Maurice simply cannot bench all of the deserving candidates.
So he did the only thing he could a few hours after their latest humiliation and a few hours before they play an NHL team that is even worse than they are, the Los Angeles Kings. Maurice shuffled his lines one more time, reuniting wingers Alexei Ponikarovsky and Nik Antropov, who have both gone cold, with centre Mats Sundin, the team's only consistent performer.
"What would the list of high-profile players be?" Maurice said when he was asked after the morning skate if he considered benching some of the Leafs' prominent players. "We need the players we have to play better."
Maurice also reunited centre Matt Stajan and left winger Alexander Steen but did not put right winger Boyd Devereaux back with them. Instead, Jason Blake, another high-profile player who is not producing, will play on the right side.
Toronto Maple Leafs' Hal Gill slides on the ice after losing the puck late in the first period which resulted in an Anaheim Ducks goal during their NHL hockey game in Anaheim, California Wednesday. (Danny Moloshok/Reuters News Agency)
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Devereaux, whom Maurice singled out as one of the few decent players in Wednesday night's 5-0 shellacking at the hands of the Anaheim Ducks, will play on a new line. Rookie left winger Jiri Tlusty was brought back from the press box to play with Devereaux and centre John Pohl. Wade Belak will be scratched from the lineup to make room for Tlusty.
The remaining line will see centre Kyle Wellwood, who was used sparingly in the Ducks game, play between Chad Kilger and Darcy Tucker.
As planned, Andrew Raycroft will start in goal. Vesa Toskala, who came back from a six-game absence due to a groin strain, reported no ill effects from his start against the Ducks and will play against his former team, the San Jose Sharks, for the first time on Saturday night. Scott Clemmensen, who was with the Leafs on an emergency recall to replace Toskala was sent back to their farm team, the Toronto Marlies.
The Leafs have lost their last three games in a row and satt 14th in the Eastern Conference Standings and 28th overall as of Thursday morning. Only the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Kings are below them. They have to win the game against the Kings to salvage anything from this three-game road trip and somehow start an upward move in the standing.
Maurice said the only thing to do in this situation is keep shuffling the player deck until he finds the right combination.
"You've got to keep moving guys around," he said. "You have to keep kicking them in the shins, keep pumping their tires.
"At no point is any player allowed to throw up his hands and [give up.]
There is a good chance the Leafs will face former teammate J.S. Aubin, who served as Raycroft's backup last season. He is expected to start for the Kings in goal.
Aubin, who was not resigned after last season, was not one of Maurice's favourite players. There was also much talk Aubin never saw eye-to-eye with his teammates when he was with the Leafs.
"I don't know his relationship with his teammates," Maurice said. "He wanted to play more. I didn't want him to and that was that.
"I don't think he was ever a problem for Andrew Raycroft. I think they sorted that out. Andrew's a pretty easy-going guy."
