Toronto Maple Leafs: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly After 2 Games
The Good: Toronto Maple Leafs Forwards
Fortunately for the Toronto Maple Leafs, there is a lot of good happening for the team right now. Even though it has only been two games, there is plenty to like about this team.
William Nylander has been a bright spot for the Leafs early on. He has two goals and one assist for three points in two games. The Toronto winger is averaging just over 20 minutes a game through two games. (Stats from: Hockey-Reference.com)
Some other Nylander stats to pay attention to are the fact that he has four takeaways and zero giveaways. He also has some impressive Corsi numbers to start the season. When Nylander is on the ice, Toronto is controlling the puck 64.5% of the time.
Another player who is opening some eyes in Toronto is Michael Bunting. Although he only has one assist so far, he is constantly battling for loose pucks in the dirty areas. The team is controlling the puck 60.4% of the time when Bunting is on the ice. He has also drawn two penalties which allows the team’s powerplay to get some opportunities.
Jason Spezza is another Toronto Maple Leafs forward who is off to a good start. Spezza has a goal and an assist for two points in two games. Spezza had 30 points in 54 games last season, so with two points already this season, the 38 year-old is showing no signs of slowing down.
Toronto Maple Leafs Golatending
The tandem of Jack Campbell and Petr Mrazek has been good despite the one loss. In Thursday’s 3-2 loss to Ottawa, two of the three goals were deflections that Mrazek really can’t be blamed for. He looked pretty good otherwise, stopping 23 of 26 shots in the loss.
Jack Campbell has been great so far as he looks to build off of last season. He won the first game of the season against Montreal and played the third period of Thursday’s game after Mrazek left with an injury. Campbell has stopped 41 of 42 shots against and has a 0.76 GAA along with a .976 SV%. He will get the start on Saturday in the rematch against Ottawa.
Toronto Maple Leafs Special Teams
The team’s powerplay (PP) and penalty kill (PK) are off to a good start. Toronto’s penalty kill has killed off seven of their eight penalties. Their PK percentage of 87.5% is the 8th best in the NHL. The powerplay has scored on three out of eight chances. that gives them a PP percentage of 37.5% which is currently 11th in the NHL.