Warren Gatland conceded that forwards Courtney Lawes and Iain Henderson have posed strong arguments for selection for Saturday's second Test against the All Blacks in Wellington.
The duo stood out as the Lions threw away a commanding position in a 31-31 draw with the Hurricanes - their final midweek fixture in Wellington on Tuesday.
Henderson's late yellow card gifted the Hurricanes a route back into Tuesday's Westpac Stadium clash, with the Lions surrendering a 31-17 lead to end with the draw.
But Gatland remained impressed with the Ireland lock's contribution ahead of Saturday's crucial second Test.
Maro Itoje, who was a second-half replacement at Eden Park, looks a certain starter but Henderson and Lawes will join Alun Wyn Jones and George Kruis in the frame to start alongside the England amn.
"Iain Henderson carried fantastically well," said Gatland, before being sin-binned for dangerous cleanout on Jordie Barrett.
"It was a big moment in the game, the yellow card.
"It's a penalty to us which ends up being a penalty reversed and a yellow card, and that's the game. It's disappointing because you're in so much control of it.
"It was a massive swing in the game.
"Sometimes players are unlucky in terms of that. I thought Courtney Lawes carried well as well in the first-half.
"It's a position right from the start where we knew we had a lot of strength.
"It's a toss-up in terms of selection (at lock for the second Test).
"We'll meet tomorrow evening and look at selecting the side before we announce it to the players on Thursday.
"Primarily those two guys (Henderson and Lawes) had really strong games tonight to give us some real food for thought."
