Editor In Leaf
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Toronto Maple Leafs Roundtable: Three Positives, One Negative

By Tim Chiasson

Oct 22, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Toronto Maple Leafs left wing James van Riemsdyk (25) and teammates celebrate his goal against the Chicago Blackhawks in the second period at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 22, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Toronto Maple Leafs left wing James van Riemsdyk (25) and teammates celebrate his goal against the Chicago Blackhawks in the second period at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports /
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Oct 20, 2016; Saint Paul, MN, USA; Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews (34) looks on during the first period against the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center. The Wild defeated the Maple Leafs 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 20, 2016; Saint Paul, MN, USA; Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews (34) looks on during the first period against the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center. The Wild defeated the Maple Leafs 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports /

Lauren Kelly

Positives

The Kids Are All Right

The Leafs opened the season with six rookies on their roster, and pretty much all of them have made an impact one way or another.

Matthews had his record-breaking rookie debut, Marner and Brown both scored their first NHL goals, and Nylander has seven points in five games.

In fact, Toronto’s six rookies have combined for 20 points through five games this season. Even with all the expectations surrounding Matthews and Co., that’s hardly a statistic anyone thought they’d have at this point in the season.

The Goals Are Coming

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Remember last year when the team couldn’t buy a goal, not even for a million dollars? That’s done a complete 180 now, with the rookies firing on all cylinders.

Matthews, Nylander, and Marner have all started the season by having immediate impacts on the scoresheet, and if not for the amount of pucks that keep finding the back of the net, the Leafs might not have gotten to overtime or the shootout at all.

But if, and when, the rookies fizzle, will the veterans like Kadri, JVR, Bozak, etc. be able to keep the offense going?

Positive Possession

The Leafs are currently fifth in overall possession in the NHL, which is great considering how poor their possession stats were last season.

They’re currently hovering around 54.5% (prior to the Blackhawks game, without Hunwick on the ice, they were at 59.5%). What’s even more impressive is that the younger players (namely Nylander, Brown, Carrick, Matthews, and Marner) are the main reasons as to why they Leafs have improved their puck possession numbers.

The question now is, can they keep it up?

Negatives

Gone With the Leads

I did kind of rant about how bad the blueline actually is after the Blackhawks game but wow, I did not expect the Leafs to have such issues in their own zone.

What is it with this team and their inability to hold onto leads, especially this season? It’s actually comical – when the Leafs head into the 3rd with a lead of any sort, you can basically be assured that it’ll be gone by the time the third period is over.

They could be 5-0 right now if they could just hold the fort down. If their goal is to get six-points out of every five games, according to Mike Babcock, they’re going to have to figure out how to stop the bleeding, before it gets even uglier than it already is.

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