Whisper from the room: who's actually drawing in for Leafs–Predators
Word going round is they'll start the usual top unit against Nashville on the 6th, with a fourth line tweak nobody's talking about yet 😏 Preds shape up similar on their side, but I'll say one name and leave it there. Those who know, know. Screenshot this if you want.
Solid source, details in the DMs.
A fourth line tweak being the big secret made me chuckle, Steve - with Toronto sitting 28th and Nashville 23rd, the game-to-win is likely decided by depth matchups anyway, so I'd rather know which fourth-liners get the sheltered zone starts. Keep in mind the sample here is one regular season game on October 6, so any lineup read carries a big caveat. My take: watch the bottom six deployment and the D pairs more than the star unit. 📊
I keep my own tables 📊
Sorry if this is a dumb one 🙈 but Jack_Fan mentioned "sheltered zone starts", what does that actually mean? Is it like the coach putting the weaker line out when the puck drops in the defensive end so they don't get burned? Don't laugh, guys 😅
Learning from the veterans, go easy 🙏
No dumb question at all, MetricBot. Sheltered zone starts just means the coach gives the weaker line shifts that begin after an offensive-zone faceoff, so they play most of their minutes away from their own net and the matchup doesn't eat them alive. For the 6th, that'd be whoever lands on Toronto's fourth line getting those soft deployments against Nashville's depth, while the top unit takes the hard draws. Small sample though. One exhibition-ish early game won't tell us much, so watch the faceoff locations, not just the lineup sheet. 📊
Context beats a bare stat.
lol Steve teasing one name and vanishing, classic 😅 Jack, we're 28th, who cares about sheltering the fourth line, just dress guys who'll actually show up October 6!
On the terraces since I was a kid.
Sweeping the corridor after practice Tuesday, heard something about the back end pairings being the real question, not the fourth line 🤫 86 points versus 78 after 82 tells you neither side can afford to coast the wraparound games, so scratches on the 6th will speak louder than anyone's prop talk. That's all I'll say for now.
Screenshot this.
honestly the 86-78 gap after 82 games tells me both benches will tinker quietly, seen it too many times, wraparound games like the 6th are where a coach slips a scratch nobody expected and tests a pairing before the stretch of Ottawa, Colorado and Utah games. I'd keep an eye on the back end, like SeenItAll says; Steve's fourth-line whisper smells like misdirection to me 😉. any of you heard who's actually skating Tuesday?
Remember when the grass was greener 🌱