Maple Leafs, Capitals both juggle lines for offensive showdown

Toronto Maple Leafs superstar Auston Matthews talks about the successful Stanley Cup run by the Washington Capitals and the celebration that ensued.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Toronto Maple Leafs and Washington Capitals are both shaking up their lineups for Saturday’s showdown between the two most potent offences in this young NHL season.

As the defending champions try to fill the very specific void winger Tom Wilson’s 20-game suspension has left on Evgeny Kuznetsov’s top line (Wilson’s appeal goes Thursday), Chandler Stephenson graduates to the top six, replacing Brett Connolly, who drops down to Lars Eller’s third line.

Washington last used Stephenson in this role during its playoff series victory over Pittsburgh, and coach Todd Reirden is looking for him to add a defensive complement to a top line that has only controlled 46.5 per cent of the shot attempts this season.

Despite playing four games with superstars Alex Ovechkin and Kuznetsov, Connolly has yet to score. He does have three assists.

“Just the depth of [Toronto’s] four lines and the way that they play, I think this lines up better for our four lines matchup-wise for us, and also just looking for someone with a little bit different type of skill set,” Reirden told reporters Saturday.

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Toronto coach Mike Babcock, too, made some tweaks, even though his club is riding a four-game road winning streak.

Tyler Ennis, a budget free-agent signing this summer, has not only fallen off the top trio with NHL leading scorer Auston Matthews and Patrick Marleau, he’s now a healthy scratch for his first time as a Leaf.

As Toronto searches for consistency from its bottom defence pairing, rookie Igor Ozhiganov will swap in for Martin Marincin on the right side of Travis Dermott.

Andreas Johnsson, scratched for victories in Dallas and Detroit, will take Ennis’s spot on the fourth line.

Ennis has just one assist and is a minus-3 on a plus-5 team, but Babcock refused to criticize the winger’s play.

“To say [Ennis] hasn’t done anything would be wrong. This is what we expected of him, he’s done a good job, and he’ll be back in,” Babcock said.

“We’re happy with him. He’s skated good, he’s a good person, he’s made plays, he’s done his thing. It gives us a veteran forward who’s played in the league, who knows how to play. It’s not always easy to be in his spot, but he knows the spot he’s in. That’s what we signed him for. I think it’s going really well for him.”

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Johnsson was crowned MVP of the Toronto Marlies’ championship run last spring but has yet to find his groove in October. Through three contests, he’s still searching for his first point.

Babcock challenged the 23-year-old rookie ahead of Saturday’s tilt.

“He obviously had elite finish and won the Calder Cup — that’s all over with. You’ve got to do it at the National Hockey League level,” Babcock said.

“We think Johnny’s a good player. He’s got to become a good player every day in the National Hockey League. That means with your preparation, that means with your play on the wall, that means your turnovers, that means your power-play time, everything.

“It’s often a great reminder to all of us: When things don’t go as they should, it’s a reset. He’s been given that.”

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