Toronto Maple Leafs: Game Two Attack Plan

The Toronto Maple Leafs proved they can keep with the Washington Capitals Thursday night.

Coming into this series, there were minimal expectations for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Well, I’m here to tell you that’s not the truth anymore. If you still think there shouldn’t be any expectations for the Leafs to succeed, then you won’t like this article.

Let’s quickly examine Thursday night’s loss.

They came right out of the gate, getting on the scoreboard early. They didn’t let up and were rewarded with another. In a flurry in front of the net, the Capitals were able to poke one behind Frederik Andersen to make it 2-1.

A little later down the stretch, Justin Williams was able to find the puck that Andersen couldn’t and made in a tie game. Fast forward to overtime and Tom Wilson’s thrown on net shot squeaked in.

That’s a very quick recap. What I didn’t mention in all of the goal scoring summaries was how the Leafs, for the most part, dominated the game. They didn’t allow the Capitals to sustain offensive zone pressure, were excellent at quick breakouts and didn’t make many foolish mistakes.

The Leafs really didn’t look like they were out of place in this game. It looked like two teams who had made the playoffs and were starting their seasons over that were just going at it.

Game Two Game Plan

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This brings us to Saturday night’s game. They lost one, so they must have to change something, right?

No way.

They don’t need to change a thing.

5. Clog up the neutral zone.

4. Aggressively backcheck.

3. Short passes, quick outs.

2. Get shots on net.

1. Be physical.

They did all five of these things Thursday and they brought the game to overtime. If it weren’t for that one silly goal, the Leafs could have stolen game one.

And by stolen, I’m referring to the fact that they’re looked at as the underdog team.

Forget game one, it’s in the past. Get out there and steal game two to even out the series.

Game Notes

Nikita Zaitsev has been ruled out for game two, but it’s looking like a return for game three is inevitable.

As for the Leafs lines headed into Saturday night’s game, I wouldn’t be expecting any major changes.

Not even minor ones for that matter.

Look for a similar attack plan tonight and a team that’s thirsty to win in Washington. It can be done (knock on wood), they just need to sustain pressure and not let up.

Puck drop is at 7:00 PM.