Photo credit: Charles LeClaire – Imagn Images
Maple Leafs rookie Easton Cowan is only a couple of months into his NHL career and has already drawn the assignment of a lifetime with the team.
Fresh off a gargantuan win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night, the Toronto Maple Leafs return to action tomorrow against the Florida Panthers in what should be an emotional contest after last year’s playoff matchup.
Head coach Craig Berube didn’t tinker with his lineup too much other than having Nicolas Robertson flanked on the fourth line with Scott Laughton and Steven Lorentz.
Max Domi remained up top with Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies, rookie Easton Cowan was on a line with John Tavares and William Nylander, and the third line featured a lot of size in Dakota Joshua, Nicolas Roy, and Bobby McMann.
However, the more important piece of information that came out of practice today were the changes made on the power play, primarily on the top unit. After having used either Oliver Ekman-Larsson or Morgan Rielly as the quarterback for quite some time, Berube has decided to inject a bit of youth with Cowan joining the ranks.
With Cowan now making up the 5-forward unit, that means that both Ekman-Larsson and Rielly will be featured on the second unit alongside Domi, McMann, and Roy.
The Leafs power play has been off to a horrid start this season as they sit 25th league-wide with a 15.87% success rate. Entering Saturday’s contest against the Penguins, the Leafs were mired in a 1-14 slump, before pocketing a power play goal on 3 attempts.
In fact, the Leafs have only scored a power play in 7 games this season, and if you take out their best stretch, which was a 4 for 12 run in 3 straight games, the power play is 6 for 51 otherwise. Injuries have played a part but it’s still unacceptable considering some of the names they employ.
With Cowan now apart of the unit, it’s the perfect opportunity for him to shine. The rookie playmaker will have the chance to set up the likes of Matthews, Nylander, and Knies, while giving the opposition another shifty and creative body they have to mark.
The 20-year-old has exhibited some of his offensive skill over the last little bit with 2 goals and 4 points over his last 5 games. He’s yet to register a power play point this year, but that should change tomorrow night against a Panthers team that takes 9.6 PIMs per game.
Previously on Toronto Hockey Daily