Toronto Maple Leafs Comprehensive
Each week I will put together a blog that evaluates the team’s performance for the week. I will highlight a game of the week, a player of the week, gather some interesting news, and share some of the best quotes from Leaf players and coaches.
Weeks 1 and 2 will be combined into this first edition, as it’s more like a week and a half, so let’s give a breakdown of how the boys are doing.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are currently sitting in 2nd place in the North division with a record of 5-2. Only our most beloved rival, the Montreal Canadians, sit ahead of us by mere % points at 4-0-2.
After a couple of rough starts for Freddie, both goalies have been solid, bringing the team SV% up to just a tic above league average at 5v5. The power-play is off to a fantastic start, sitting 3rd in the league at 40.91%, and the PK is just above league average at 80.77% (all stats via hockey-reference.com). The depth of the PP has also been impressive as both units have been effective early on. Special teams have been solid.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have controlled the bulk of the play through the first 7 games, sitting both 5th in CF% at 54.2 and 8th in SCF% at 62.3, both very respectable numbers. Keefe wants more pace, but early indications are good, and I expect these numbers to only get better as the pace quickens.
The guys that are supposed to be scoring, the guys that make the money, are scoring. Marner leads the team with 10 pts in 7 games, and all four big contracts are driving the bus so far. Not much to complain about here.
Considering all the craziness that surrounds the NHL restart, all the new faces on the Toronto Maple Leafs, a couple of key injuries, and the fact that these guys just got done playing 7 games in 12 days…I’ll take the 5-2 record and walk those points straight to the bank with a smile. I’ll even high-five the teller while I’m at it.