The Maple Leafs practiced at Ford Performance Centre on Tuesday.

---

William Nylander thinks he knows why his line is getting burned in the defensive zone.

"We've been creating a lot of chances offensively," the Leafs winger said. "Those defensive situations have come off of us having longer shifts in the O-zone and then having to play defence and giving up some chances. I think a way to adjust that would be to try and get off the ice earlier."

Nylander, Max Domi and Tyler Bertuzzi have outscored the opposition 6-5 in nine games since being put together on a new-look second line. But the opposition is generating more chances (58-42) in those minutes, per NaturalStatTrick.com.

"Change earlier," Nylander said of the remedy. "Defending tired doesn't help."

Is it really that simple?

"That is kind of the art of being a good defensive player," acknowledged coach Sheldon Keefe. "Getting off the ice before things go badly. That is part of it, yes."

It's easier said than done.

"It is a challenging thing to do for offensive players," said Keefe. "You build momentum on a shift. You want to produce. You want to score. You want to see it through and then things don't work out and now you got to get back and defend the other way ... You want guys to produce, you want guys to feel good on offence, but you want to build positive momentum as a team from shift to shift. In some cases, that [requires] giving up on your shift."

Nylander is a great finisher and on pace to score a career high 44 goals. Bertuzzi is at his best in front of the net where he can create chaos. Domi is a gifted playmaker. The potential for this trio on offence appears to be sky high.

"We just think that the offensive skills, the characteristics make up a line that can be effective," Keefe said.

"We all think the game similarly," Nylander said. "We're trying to find each other out there and create a lot of O-zone chances."

The coach is more worried about the other end of the rink. Keefe met with Nylander, Domi and Bertuzzi on Friday to stress that when it's time to play defence, they need to dig in.

And it's not just about shift lengths.

"Some of it is execution on breakouts," said Keefe. "If you don't break out the first time real quick, now you are in the D-zone. You can manage your shift well by getting in and out fast from our breakouts ... If you don't get out the first time, now you are chasing."

The team worked on breaking the puck out during Tuesday's 20-minute practice.

"For that line, in particular, that's probably a more important factor than the line change piece," Keefe said. "There is some natural flow to the game that you can't prevent. It is going to happen. You're going to be in these spots, but the execution on our half of the ice with the puck is an important piece. If you don't get it right, now you are going to be in the defensive zone and that exposes other issues."

---

Keefe is willing to give the Nylander, Domi and Bertuzzi unit some runway to work things out, because the team is 7-2-0 since the middle-six move.

"It also has effects on the rest of the lineup," Keefe pointed out. "Our ability to have John [Tavares] on a different line sets us up well. We are seeing some of the positive things that are coming out of that. It is all connected. For those reasons, you want to stick with it. Also, the team has played well. The team has had good results. You want to be able to continue to work with it and let it breathe a little bit, but you are obviously monitoring it at the same time."

O CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN!