Lorentz back in Maple Leafs lineup, Jarnkrok out against Seattle

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Steven Lorenz is on the field, Calle Jarnkrok is out.

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That was the metric at Maple Leafs practice on Friday, and it's the reality as Toronto hosts the Seattle Kraken on Saturday night.

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“It’s just a numbers game,” Leafs coach Craig Berube said Saturday morning after the club held an extra morning skate at the Ford Performance Center. “Nothing more.

“It's part of the team. We did it last year. There are guys that probably don't deserve to be on the field every now and then, but we have to try to use everyone. This year, as always, is a tough schedule and you need 23 guys. That's why they're here.”

Lorenz returns to the Leafs' fourth line after missing the last three games, two with an upper-body injury suffered last Saturday in Detroit against the Red Wings and one with a healthy scratch.

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After scoring one goal in each of the Leafs' three games, Jarnkrok has not been a factor in the last two games. On Friday he replaced the absentee Auston Matthews (load management) in practice.

JOSHUA STAYS

This is a short reprieve for Dakota Joshuawho didn't make much of an impact in his first five games with the Leafs. The big forward has 10 shots to his name, but has just one assist and just five shots on goal.

If Joshua had been scratched, not a single eyebrow would have been raised.

“For me, it’s all about pre-testing with Dakota, conditioning, getting pucks, getting them low and getting them in the net,” Berube said. “That's where he's going to score his goals.”

AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT

The Leafs have a 3-2-0 record in the game, one of just 10 Saturday night home games for them in the 2025-26 season. The Kraken (2-0-2) will play the third game of a six-game series.

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Toronto was inconsistent at the start. For Berube, areas of improvement are not difficult.

“We've given up on the weird attacks, in my opinion they were self-inflicted,” Berube said. “Another area we need to improve in is our clean front and killer play in our own zone.

“I don't think we're strong enough right now to kill players at low levels and let people get out there with the puck, and our front end might be tougher. We took a lot of pride in that last year.”

This is the ninth meeting between the Leafs and Kraken since the latter club began its NHL career in the 2021-22 season.

The Leafs had won seven of their previous eight games against the Kraken. The only loss came on Jan. 5, 2023, when Seattle beat Toronto 5-1 at Scotiabank Arena.

PROJECTED COMPOSITION OF LEAFS

Forwards

LW-C-RW

Matthew NiceAuston Matthews-Easton Cowan

Mathias Maccelli-John Tavares-William Nylander

Nick Robertson-Max Domi-Bobby McMann

Stephen Lorenz-Nicholas Roy-Dakota Joshua

DEFENSE

Jake McCabe-Chris Tanev

Morgan Rielly-Brandon Carlo

Simon Benoit-Oliver Ekman-Larsson

GOALKEEPER

Anthony Stolarz

Kayden Primo

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