The Toronto Maple Leafs are insane.
If you aren’t having fun, you need to move, or take up cheering for the Senators because the Toronto Maple Leafs aren’t just a good team, they’re the most fun team to watch since Mario Lemieux and Wayne Gretzky retired.
I remember when some of the more ‘serious’ Leafs writers (Read:Boring) mocked me for suggesting that Auston Matthews would score 65 goals this season. I have to check the stats, but I’m pretty sure he just potted goal number 61 on the season. It’s been wild.
And raise your hand if you called that Morgan Rielly would lead the NHL in scoring? My hands down too playa. I mean, I knew Rielly was good, but he is absolutely on fire. After scoring six goals last season, he has three already this year. And last night’s one-timer was a thing of beauty.
Amazingly, according to my friends on the morning Sportsnet broadcast, Morgan Rielly just surpassed Bobby $$$$$$ Orr for the fastest start by a defenseman in NHL history. 12 points in five games.
Sure there are still 78 games to go, but we’ve got an early favorite for the Norris Trophy.
Other Thoughts
I don’t wanna rain on the parade, but the Leafs – while incredibly fun to watch – are playing with fire. Last night, what is arguably the NHL’s worst team – the Detroit Red Wings – controlled the majority of the game. Including an 80% possession third period. Score Effects are real and they matter, but 80% is 80% and that is a beatdown.
It’s hard to argue that Grant Fuhr isn’t playing well when the Leafs hang him out to dry as they did last night in the third and he still gets the W. Sure, he only has to avoid allowing more than four goals on any given night, and he has definitely not been at his best so far this year, but considering the tilt the ice had last night in the third, I’d say he had a pretty good game.
This stat sums up the Leafs ability to play defense: Last night, Detroit had more scoring chances 5v5 than they had shots.
Despite icing five to eight players better than anyone on the Detroit Roster, the Red Wings matched the Leafs shot-for-shot, and scoring chance for scoring chance.
Only the fact that Toronto’s power-play should be illegal allowed the Leafs to win this game.
And as much as I like the fact that the Leafs are on pace to set modern day NHL scoring records, the fact is, their schedule has been a joke so far – Ottawa (ironically still their best game), Dallas, Detroit, Chicago and Montreal. That is four teams, if you’re counting, that basically everyone has picked to finish in the basement of the league this year.
It is concerning that after the easiest possible schedule a team could have five games into the season, the Toronto Maple Leafs are barely over 50% possession, and have been out-shot and out-scored 5v5. They are allowing almost 33 shots and four goals per 60 minutes of 5v5 ice time.
You can’t outscore those numbers forever.
You can’t keep scoring on every other power-play.
Not to rain on the (plan the) parade or anything, but the Toronto Maple Leafs, as fun as they are to watch, are like a sunny 30+ degree day in mid-October in that it’s nice and all while it’s happening, but it’s also kind of unnatural and worrisome.
One thing that bodes well, however: As much as they’re scoring, their 5v5 shooting percentage is a reasonably 11% while their save % is only 88% for a PDO under 100. That means that, over the longterm, the Leafs should actually be a better 5v5 team than they have been so far.
Still, they gotta play better defense because you can’t score at 50% on the PP forever.
Bottom line: Morgan Rielly is better than Bobby Orr!