The Toronto Maple Leafs enter their first actual bumps on the road this season after falling to Columbus.
Ineffective. That’s the word that comes to mind describing the Toronto Maple Leafs performance in their last two games. They played a fair game last night, they just weren’t effective, at all.
For those who expected a sharp analysis from last nights game by writer Hunter Eitel, I’m sorry to disappoint you, I’m filling in for him today. Still, he contributed for this piece, for which I’m grateful!
Power(less) Play
The Toronto Maple Leafs started the season with a serious bid for becoming the league’s top power-play team. Even with the potential second quarterback of a unit, William Nylander, the Toronto Maple Leafs were firing at all cylinders on the power-play.
It’s almost a lesson in history when you realize Toronto’s last goal on the power play was on November 13 against the LA Kings. Scoring three goals on the man-advantage, there was no sign of slowing down.
Since Kadri’s wrister, the Toronto Maple Leafs have had 10 opportunities on the man-advantage, unable capitalizing on those chances. While it’s perhaps too early to speak of a drought, after 10 missed opportunities, you’d expect more from a team holstering Tavares, Marner, Kadri, Marleau, and Kadri on their top-unit.
A Good Start Is Half The Battle
Scoring the first goal, it’s no guarantee it’ll win you the game, but it’s a great place to start. Sadly, the Toronto Maple Leafs have not been living up to that expression, facing a 2-goal deficit in their past 3 games.
The Toronto Maple Leafs had the better of the game, outshooting the Blue Jackets in every period and creating more scoring chances (57,14% for Toronto against 42,86% for Columbus). They just didn’t capitalize on their dominance.
It could very well be a key to the game tonight against the Flyers, scoring that first goal.
3 Positive Takeaway’s
No despair necessary yet, there are some positive takeaway’s from last nights game. First off, the scoring drift of Kasperi Kapanen. Last night marked his 10th of the season, meaning he’s on pace for 36 goals on the season, talk about a breakthrough year eh? Not to mention the scoring depth of this team.
Travis Dermott continues to impress with his strong game. When on the ice the Toronto Maple Leafs did not get a goal against and had the better of the game in terms of puck possession (63.6%), shots for (57.9%) and chances for (66,7%).
Marner was the leader in ice-time for the Toronto Maple Leafs last night with 23 minutes and 34 seconds. A serious improvement of the ice-time Marner got from Mike Babcock last season (averaging 16 minutes and 38 seconds).
Thanks for reading, enjoy the game tonight as James van Riemsdyk returns home!
All stats from naturalstattrick.