Sheldon Keefe's last minute lineup change pays off.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have had an up and down campaign so far in the 2022-23 National Hockey League regular season and with the high expectations that this team and their fans have for this season, that has resulted in a great deal of pressure on Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe.

Keefe has been the target of significant criticism this season and while he will certainly face a great deal more before the season has wrapped up, the Leafs bench boss seemed to hit the right note with one of his decisions on Saturday night.

Just minutes prior to the game it was reported that veteran defenseman Jordie Benn was spotted skating alongside Leafs defenseman Justin Holl during warmups, a spot that would normally have been occupied by veteran Maple Leafs defenseman TJ Brodie. Keefe would scratch Brodie, although the reasons for the move are still not clear, and would instead opt to go with Benn for tonight's game.

That would make tonight's game against the Vancouver Canucks the Maple Leafs debut for the veteran Benn, and when given the opportunity by Sheldon Keefe he made it count. Not only would Benn score his first goal as a Maple Leaf in his very first game with the team, but it was a pivotal goal in the game's second period, one that gave the Leafs their first lead of the game.

The other Maple Leafs seemed pretty happy for Benn as well, with Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews perhaps being even happier than Benn himself about the goal.