Maple Leafs’ Defence Predictions for Game 1 of the Playoffs – The Hockey Writers – Toronto Maple Leafs

With only three games left in the Toronto Maple Leafs season, Leafs Nation still doesn’t have a good idea of what the blue line will look like when Game 1 of the playoffs starts. Part of the reason is that the team has struggled with injuries, and they have had to do some major patchwork to make the defence core competitive.

During that time, though, one question was answered, whether Simon Benoit would be a key piece to the back end. Unfortunately, other questions are still up in the air, and the pairings are still up for speculation. With that, let’s get into what the Maple Leafs’ defence core could look like in Game 1 of the playoffs.

Rielly & Lyubushkin

This one may be an unpopular opinion in Leafs land, but Morgan Rielly and Ilya Lyubushkin should start Game 1 of the playoffs together. The key here is Rielly; the team needs him to be the best possible version of himself when the playoffs start. How does that happen? It seems to play him alongside a very defensive-minded player, and typically he is a stay-at-home blueliner. Examples of this would be Luke Schenn, Ron Hainsey, and the aforementioned Lyubushkin, all of whom have done well with Rielly as a pairing. 

This pairing allows the Maple Leafs to use their other pairings in more of a shutdown role while using this one as more of a top pairing that plays alongside the top stars, which gives Rielly the chance to produce offensively. Last season’s playoffs saw the importance of Rielly and how the team needed him to be able to find success and win rounds. In 11 games in the 2023 Playoffs, Rielly had four goals and eight assists for 12 points, which played a very important role in them making it out of the first round for the first time since 2004. 

Benoit & McCabe

Benoit and Jake McCabe are a must for the Maple Leafs pairings. These two will be crucial to the team’s back end and have been one of the best pairings for the team this season. Benoit started the season as an extra who struggled to get into the lineup. Now, he is a mainstay on the blue line and has quickly become a fan favourite. McCabe also seems to be a fan favourite; he plays hard, and that doesn’t go unnoticed by Leafs Nation. This pairing is an angry, hard-to-play-against duo built for playoff hockey. Especially when the gamesmanship starts and players are attempting to try and get into the goalie’s head, this is where these two will shine.

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