3 Adjustments the Toronto Maple Leafs Must Make vs Capitals

1. The Toronto Maple Leafs Must Reunite Top Line

The Toronto Maple Leafs did enter the game with the first line that dominated last season, only to quickly made adjustments following the Canadiens’ second goal.

The Leafs ultimately ended up using Bunting with Matthews for only eight of Matthews’ 13 5v5 minutes. (stats naturalstattrick.com).

Yes, Michel Bunting’s attempted pass to Auston Matthews was lazy, and that lead to a Cole Caufield snipe. However, removing Bunting from the line removes a tenacious force on the forecheck.

While Mitch Marner and Matthews are capable of playing this way, it removes them from high-chance scoring chances due to positioning.

I would rather have Marner and Matthews ready for a one-timer rather than one of the two on the forecheck to set up said play. This is where Bunting is useful. His tenacity and ability to get to the dirty areas make life easier for his line mates, and he should be back to playing on that first line.

Bunting played ten minutes, scored a goal, and posted over a 70% puck possession rating with an expected goals rating over 60%.  He clearly had a good game, and adjusting the lines after one mistake could be seen as an overreaction.

The Leafs should keep their best line together and be patient.

Improved Work Ethic

The Montreal Canadiens entered the game understanding that if they don’t outwork the Maple Leafs, they were unlikely to win the game. That isn’t necessarily how the game played out, but certainly Montreal’s perfect penalty killing and the fact they more or less kept pace with a much better team speaks well of their effort, and poorly of the Leafs.

It’s always easy to call the losing team lazy, but the Toronto Maple Leafs outshot Montreal, had more scoring chances, and had way more puck possession. They clearly couldn’t come out ahead in all facets of the game if they didn’t give a solid effort, but there were times – especially in the third period – where they looked, if not lazy,  then unprepared and disorganized.

There is no excuse for a veteran like Jake Muzzin to make two errors on the same play in the last minute of a game.

The Leafs find themselves with a record of 0-1-0 after losing to a team who is expected to win the draft lottery. If they want to make the playoffs as Cup Favorites, the Maple Leafs have to show that they can dominate their opposition in all facets of the game.

The fourth line was particularly horrible last night, with every player  posting an expected goals rating of 10% or worse.  They have got to be harder to play against and at least provide an aggressive forecheck.   This game, they were completely invisible and have to improve, which I’m certain they will.

Defensive Play and Matt Murray

In three of the four goals, Matt Murray was forced into a tough situation following defensive mistakes and misreads. His team generally left him out to dry with multiple 2 on 1 rushes, bad block attempts (including Justin Holl’s screen of his own goaltender), and a horrible attempt of a breakout play by Jake Muzzin.

Could this be because the season just started?

Yep, definitely.

But that doesn’t make it any less concerning.

The first two goals by Cole Caufield were a 2v1, and the last two were from bad zone coverage. Odd-man rushes with a guy like Caufield will usually work in the Canadiens’ favor thanks to his natural goal-scoring ability, and any team will score if you continually break down your coverage.

You can’t blame Matt Murray, but you can blame the defense.  The odd-man rushes really shouldn’t have happened if the team is playing with patience and focus. The third goal was a bad block by Muzzin, leading to a goal on the rebound, and the fourth was ANOTHER bad play by Muzzin as he gave Suzuki the puck on a silver platter, who then passed to Josh Anderson. Murray was screened by Holl, and the Canadiens win the game.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have to be cleaner on breakouts and focus on their defensive scheme. Too many times Murray was caught in a tough situation, and his own teammates were the reason why. The Leafs made far too many mistakes on defense and transition, and this has to change against the Capitals.

That said, you can’t knock Matt Murray for his first game.  Let’s see how they do tonight with the same lineup going in front of Ilya Samsonov.