Leafs split up struggling power play: 'We've got to try something different'

The Toronto Maple Leafs are splitting up their ice-cold top power play unit ahead of Monday's clash against the first-place Winnipeg Jets.

The top unit will feature Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, Max Pacioretty, Matthew Knies, and Morgan Rielly. John Tavares and William Nylander have been bumped to the second group with Max Domi, Bobby McMann, and Oliver Ekman-Larsson.

"It's all about results for the most part, and we're not getting them. So we've got to try something different and a little bit more direct," head coach Craig Berube said, per David Alter of The Hockey News. "This should make it a little bit more direct to the power play."

Berube added: "It's about getting action at the net more. We need to get more action at the net. Good net front, strong guys at the net that can win puck battles around there and things like that. So that's what we're looking for with these units."

The Maple Leafs are 3-for-30 on the power play this season, ranking 29th in the league with a 10% conversion rate. Toronto brought in Marc Savard over the summer to run the power play after converting only one of 21 opportunities against the Boston Bruins in the playoffs this past spring.

Matthews, Marner, Nylander, and Tavares have primarily manned the Leafs' top power-play unit since Tavares joined the club in 2018. Rielly and Ekman-Larsson have split time with the top group in the early stages of the campaign.

The Maple Leafs enter Monday's matchup against the undefeated Jets having lost four of their last five contests.