In fact, if you look around the league, Carlyle is more reluctant to use his bottom 10 to 12 forwards than almost any other coach. Only the Vancouver Canucks? John Tortorella has had a shorter bench leaguewide, playing his fourth liners less than seven minutes a game ? or about a minute less than the Leafs generally offer theirs.
That?s had a ripple effect through the Toronto lineup, as every other unit is expected to play a lot. The top line of Kessel, Bozak and James van Riemsdyk, for example, averages nearly 21 minutes a game ? the second highest in the NHL behind only Vancouver?s top three forwards.
The Leafs second line, meanwhile, is the third-most used second unit in the NHL. And their third line ? usually made up of Nikolai Kulemin, Jay McClement and David Clarkson, a trio that has combined for nine goals all year ? is the most played third line in the league with an average of 16.5 minutes a night.
Toronto?s third line has actually played more than six other teams? second lines.
Injuries have contributed to the problem ? with Nazem Kadri and others filling in for players like Bozak ? but this is a trend that?s been evident for a couple years now. Having enforcers Colton Orr and Frazer McLaren as two of the team?s top 13 forwards is a significant part of the issue, especially when a minor injury like the one to Clarkson this week forces both onto the same bench-warming line.
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But he wasn?t the guy the Leafs needed, not down two goals to a struggling Isles team playing its second night of a back-to-back. This was an avoidable issue, as McLaren ? who has averaged only 4 minutes, 29 seconds of ice time a game this season ? could have slipped through waivers to allow a more skilled body to fill in for Clarkson.
Instead, Holland was sandwiched between the two fighters on the bench, getting only one shift in the third period and none when his team was trailing by two and needing a goal against a team that uses all 12 of its forwards more than almost any other in the league.
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McClement, meanwhile, played two of the final 14 minutes despite owning only one goal in 43 games this season.
It wasn?t the reason Toronto lost the game, but it was indicative of a trend where Carlyle has leaned hard on defensive veterans instead of more creative younger players, even when it?s made little sense to do so.
