Toronto Maple Leafs forward Max Pacioretty was scratched for Wednesday game against the Los Angeles Kings, which appeared to be a game-time decision. Pacioretty wasn’t on the ice for warm-ups and Craig Berube told reporters why he made the call after the Maple Leafs defeated the Kings 5-2.
Pacioretty appears to be a healthy scratch with Tavares back in the lineup and Nylander slated to play alongside Max Domi on the wing.
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Pacioretty skated on the third line between Max Domi and Pontus Holmberg, and even got some reps on the top power-play unit while William Nylander was absent recovering from an illness during Wednesday morning’s optional skate.
“It’s just a decision I made. That’s it,” Berube said.
“There’s no message. We have guys, we have extra players, and not everybody can play every night, that’s the bottom line. He’s been fine when he’s played, but I gotta make decisions as a coach, and I’m gonna make those decisions what I think is best for the team.”
Pacioretty has certainly had his moments so far this season and built good chemistry with Holmberg and Nick Robertson but it hasn’t all been perfect. He also took a needless hooking penalty in the second period of Saturday’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
While Berube has been happy with the way the 35-year-old has been playing, Pacioretty admitted to reporters on Tuesday that he is still working his way up to where he wants to be from a consistency standpoint
“It’s been a lot. It’s never easy to change teams. And under these circumstances, even more so,” he said. “I liked my first game. Second game was pretty good. Didn’t like my last game. I want to start trending in the right direction and build some games together.”
Pacioretty went on to mention that he wasn’t happy with how he has been holding onto the puck which he has been struggling with since he made his return to the league with the Washington Capitals last season.
The Leafs pulled off a 6-2 win in Pacioretty’s absence, but he will certainly be hungry to prove himself should he get back into the fold for the next game against the New York Rangers.
In three games this season, Pacioretty scored a goal — which was the team’s first of the regular season. He joined the team on a PTO this fall which turned into a one-year contract prior to the start of the campaign that pays him $873,770 AAV.
