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A Look into the Toronto Maple Leafs Early Success

ByJourdan Jones|
DALLAS, TX - OCTOBER 09: (L-R) Morgan Rielly #44, Auston Matthews #34, Nazem Kadri #43, John Tavares #91 and Mitchell Marner #16 of the Toronto Maple Leafs celebrate the second goal of the game by Matthews against the Dallas Stars in the second period at American Airlines Center on October 9, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
DALLAS, TX - OCTOBER 09: (L-R) Morgan Rielly #44, Auston Matthews #34, Nazem Kadri #43, John Tavares #91 and Mitchell Marner #16 of the Toronto Maple Leafs celebrate the second goal of the game by Matthews against the Dallas Stars in the second period at American Airlines Center on October 9, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
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Toronto Maple Leafs
TORONTO, ON – JANUARY 31: Auston Matthews #34 of the Toronto Maple Leafs takes a face-off against John Tavares #91 of the New York Islanders during the third period at the Air Canada Centre on January 31, 2018 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Kevin Sousa/NHLI via Getty Images)

Stunning Special Teams

There’s a message going around the NHL, don’t take a penalty against the Leafs. With an arsenal that includes Tavares, Matthews, Marner, Kadri, and Rielly on the top power play unit, their ability to score is unmatched. With a 47.4% success rate as a team, it’s safe to say its a deadly one and may be the best in the entire league.

The Leafs also own a penalty kill percentage of 84.2%, good enough for 8th in the league, showing their consistency. The penalty kill has been strong all season long, even with the departure of top penalty killers from a year ago in Tyler Bozak and Leo Komarov.

Offensive Outburst

There was no question that the Leafs were going to score many goals this season. Proving so through their first seven games, as they stand alone at the top of the NHL in Goals For with 33 and Goals For Per Game at 4.71. This Leafs offence is putting together a special start.

What’s even more impressive is the Toronto Maple Leafs are scoring at a high pace with no William Nylander, their third leading scoring a season ago with 61 points. The restricted free agent is yet to play this season and currently in a battle with Leafs management, seeking a high pay day. When he signs, this offence will get even more potent.

Leafs Looking to Build Off Early Success

At the beginning of the season, betting odds for the Stanley Cup showed the Leafs as the team to beat. Becoming victorious over the former Stanley Cup Champion, Washington Capitals and most recently, the Los Angeles Kings, the Leafs are showing they’re for real.

The Toronto Maple Leafs will look to build off early season success as they attempt to win the team’s first Stanley Cup in 305 years.

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