Toronto Maple Leafs: The Importance of Depth Scoring In the Playoffs

The Toronto Maple Leafs are one game away from defeating the Montreal Canadians in a playoff series for the first time since 1967.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have been playing hard all series and looked more than determined to win it for Johnny Toronto.  The Leafs goal scorers in game 4 included Nylander, Galchenyk, Spezza, and Thornton. The Leafs top line did not register a point which has been a rarity for the team over the course of the Leafs season.

Last year when Columbus defeated the Leafs, the main reason the team lost was due to the fact that the Leafs lacked depth scoring.

In-game 4 the Leafs depth players showed us that they are up to the task of providing that much-needed depth scoring even with Price in the net.

The Importance of the Toronto Maple Leafs Depth

Jason Spezza has been such an incredible story for the Leafs, he has cemented himself as an all-timer in Leafs nation. There is not a single person who can cheer against this guy.

Spezza is such a talented hockey player and the rate he has been scoring is nothing short of spectacular for the veteran. He not only scored to put the Leafs up 2-0 but also got the primary assist to give Thornton a tap in goal.

Another player that really stood out in game 4 was the Canadians 3 overall pick in the 2012 NHL draft, Alex Galchenyuk. And to confirm it was not for the Habs, it was for the Leafs.

Galchenuk might be not the greatest away from the puck but the high skilled plays he made in game 4 can be done by very few players in the NHL and he is one of them. There is a reason so many teams have taken a flyer on him in recent years.

His ability to make plays such as this on the first Nylander goal:

If you said the Toronto Maple Leafs would be winning games without points from Matthews, Marner, and Tavares out of the lineup I would not have believed you.

There is nothing to even suggest that the Habs are losing because of Carey Price. Price has been keeping the Habs in games more than anything, the Habs are keeping themselves out of the games and the Leafs depth is beating the Habs depth.

If Montreal had any strength going into this series it was said to be better forward depth, but at this point in the series that is not the case whatsoever.

Whether that be the way Kerfoot has stepped up and played like a two-way monster or Pierre Engvall coming into the lineup and not letting the Habs get a shot on net while he was on the ice in his first game back.

Further, there is even an argument to be made that the Habs injures helped the team out more than anything. It was only because of the Habs injuries that Caufield was drawn into the lineup which is a positive for the Habs given the talent Caufield has.

Caufield has easily been the scariest player for the Habs even with limited minutes. As a Leafs fan whenever I see Caufield on the ice there’s a large sense of worry going through my mind with that electric shot.

Getting Ready for a Run

If the Leafs have any hope of making it past the conference final where they will be playing one of the top teams in the league, the depth players are going to need to continue to make an impact on a nightly basis.

It was Joel Kiviranta who came out of nowhere and scored five goals after only having one goal in 11 games in the regular season for the Dallas Stars on their run to the finals last season.

Of course, Dallas’ best players showed up to play, but in order to really go deep in the playoffs, the depth was required to win the Stars more than a couple of games.

The depth on the Leafs showing the potential to win a game should come as very convincing for what this team is capable of when everyone is clicking.

With this all being said, there is no playoff run until the Leafs make it out of the first round and that happens on Thursday night for game 5 of the series.