Despite leading the Battle of Ontario 2-0, the Toronto Maple Leafs are switching things up for Game 3.
Max Pacioretty will enter the lineup for Thursday's game in Ottawa in place of Nick Robertson, head coach Craig Berube told reporters.
Based on morning skate line rushes, it appears Pacioretty will slot in on a third line alongside Max Domi and Bobby McMann.
Pacioretty, 36, last played an NHL game Feb. 8 — 75 days ago — before finishing the regular season on long-term injured reserve.
"He's worked hard, kept a good attitude for the most part. It's not easy ... he's been around a long time, veteran guy. It's always harder for those guys," Berube said.
In 37 games, the winger tallied five goals and eight assists.
Robertson recorded one assist and six penalty minutes over the first two games of the series, but saw his ice time dip from 11 minutes in Game 1 to 9:36 in Game 2.
Outside of the third-line swap, the Maple Leafs appear set to roll with the same lineup, including Anthony Stolarz as the starter in net.
Puck drop for Game 3 goes Thursday at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT, and you can watch live coverage on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+.
3:35
COMMENTS
When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.