Matt Larkin pointed out that Jim Hiller has used his Maple Leafs fourth line against the NHL's two best lines in consecutive home games.
The timing is ugly. Toronto is in the first intermission against the Oilers tonight, carrying a five-game losing streak and an 8-11-2 record.
Larkin noted that Hiller sent his fourth line out against both of those top lines, at home, with last change.
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Last change is the home coach's biggest tool. He sees who the opponent puts on the ice and answers with the matchup he wants.
Choosing a fourth line to face the best forwards in the league, twice in a row, is a decision that invites questions about what the plan was.
The results at Scotiabank Arena don't help the case. The Leafs are 4-8-1 at home, and they went 3-7-0 over their last 10. Thursday's 2-5 loss to the Wild was the most recent of the five straight defeats.
The scrutiny on Hiller has been building all day. We noted that Jim Hiller's vague answer on the Anthony Stolarz start left plenty unexplained this morning, and now his deployment choices are drawing attention too.
Is Hiller's matchup strategy hurting the Maple Leafs?
It looks that way. A coach with last change who keeps feeding his lowest-minute line into the toughest assignments is giving up the one edge a home bench is supposed to provide.
Toronto has allowed 75 goals this season against 69 scored, a -6 goal differential. A fourth line is not built to shut down elite offense, and asking it to do so over and over exposes the rest of the lineup too.
There may be a reason behind it that Hiller hasn't explained. If so, he needs to share it soon, because a five-game skid does not leave much patience around.
The locker room has already heard questions about the coach. Auston Matthews' read on Jim Hiller was his most direct yet, and he didn't hide how rough things have been.
The Oilers game is still in progress. The Leafs travel to Chicago on Tuesday, November 17, and Hiller will not have last change there.
This article was written with the help of artificial intelligence, based on public reports and official sources.
What should Jim Hiller do with his fourth line against top lines?
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