The Toronto Maple Leafs destroyed the Carolina Hurricanes on December 23rd.
Out side of the Leafs, the Carolina Hurricanes are most likely the NHL’s best team, and the Toronto Maple Leafs made them look like a team that would be jealous of the 2019 Red Wings.
If you look at the NHL’s team stats, the Hurricanes are the best, or close to it, in every single stat, save the goaltending ones. Goalies are the great equalizer in the NHL, and Carolina’s are their only weakness.
So while Carolina isn’t at the top of the standings, they are definitely a top tier NHL team, and the way the Leafs took them apart should frighten the rest of the league.
Toronto Maple Leafs Since Keefe Took Over
When Keefe took over, he did some things that really helped the Leafs – essentially he made it fun for them to come to the rink again, he got the team to play to their strengths, and stopped giving Cody Ceci so much ice-time.
But what really made the difference is that under Babcock (as I must have written 40 times) the Leafs were getting really unlucky.
They played two months with a sub-.900 save percentage, they never dressed their best lineup (they still haven’t, but they’re a lot healthier), their back-up was provided much less than expected value, their PP was inexplicably cold etc.
One major difference was scoring the first goal of the game. Under Babcock they were not scoring first at all. This wasn’t all on the coach, it was more of an anomaly than anything else. But now they’ve scored first in eight straight games. Teams win 75% of the time when they score first.
While there were real problems with Babcock, there were also things happening that were making them look worse than they are. If you’re a regular reader of this column, you know this to be true, because I wrote about it a lot.
The new Toronto Maple Leafs are the best team in the NHL.
Since the coaching change on November 21st, the Leafs have played 15 games and are 11-4. They have no loser points during this time.
They have played the second-least amount of games, but lead the NHL in wins during this time. They are second in total points, but the teams ahead of them all played more games. (All stats naturalstattrick.com).
The Leafs are second in point percentage (only to Washington who has played the least amount of games since Keefe took over).
The only team that has scored more since the Leafs changed coaches is the Blue Jackets, and they’ve played two more games. The Leafs are the highest scoring team in the league since the change. (All stats 5v5 so far).
On special teams, the Leafs have really taken advantage. They lead the NHL in goals for per 60 minutes of PP ice time. They are allowing the 9th least PK goals / 60 during the same period.
So to sum up: Since Sheldon Keefe started coaching the Toronto Maple Leafs, they lead the NHL in 5v5 and Power-Play scoring, while having one of the best penalty kills.
To me, the most amazing thing is that despite all the losing, the coaching change etc. in the first half of this season, the Leafs are just three ROW (wins in regulation or overtime) behind the Bruins.
There’s 44 games left in the season, and winning the Atlantic Division is not impossible. The Playoffs – in doubt a few weeks ago, at least among skeptics – are now an almost a complete lock.
Sheldon Keefe may just win the Jack Adams. The Leafs are currently second in the Atlantic, 12 overall, and climbing.