Game Preview: Toronto Maple Leafs vs LA Kings
By Tim Chiasson
Tale of the Tape
Dec 14, 2014; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Los Angeles Kings forward Anze Kopitar (11) carries the puck against the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Air Canada Centre. Toronto defeated Los Angeles 4-3 in an overtime shot out. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports
Toronto
22-17-3 47 points (10th Eastern Conference)
PP: 20.7% (9th NHL)
PK: 82.0% (13th NHL)
G/GP: 3.19 (2nd NHL)
GA/GP: 3.07 (25th NHL)
Win Pct When Score First: .800 (4th NHL)
Los Angeles
19-13-10 48 points (8th Western Conference)
PP: 20.3% (11th NHL)
PK: 78.5% (25th NHL)
G/GP: 2.81 (11th NHL)
GA/GP: 2.52 (13th NHL)
Win Pct When Score First: .650 (19th NHL)
The Leafs have one of the best power plays in the league matching up against one of the worst penalty kill units – something they’ll need to take advantage of when given the opportunity.
The focus all game will be getting shots on Jonathan Quick. The Kings goalie can be hard to beat so the Leafs will need to capitalize on special teams offensively as well as keep the Kings power play off the board.
The Leafs still boast a .800 win percentage when scoring first – although that number has been on a slow decline – so getting the first goal is important, especially from a mental aspect to the game.
For the Kings it doesn’t really matter as much whether they score first – they’re only interested in scoring last.
Next: Analytics Report