from David Alter of The Hockey News,

Toronto Maple Leafs forward Nick Ritchie was benched for the final eight minutes in the second period of the team's 5-3 loss to the San Jose Sharks on Friday. When he returned to the ice for the third period, he was replaced on the team's top unit and moved to the fourth line.

But Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe feels the criticism of the forward has been unfair. He deflected several questions about the Rtichie's benching before redirecting the blame at two of his core-four forwards.

"You should be asking as many questions about [Auston] Matthews and [Mitch] Marner as you are Ritch," Keefe said.

And he has a point.

Marner has no goals and one assist this season. If you go back to the previous campaign and include the playoffs, he has gone 13 games without lighting the lamp.

Matthews played his second game after recovering from offseason wrist surgery. Although he looked great in his season debut in a 2-1 overtime loss to the New York Rangers on Monday, he didn't find the back of the net. Instead of building off that performance, he and the rest of his linemates were flat.

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