There are those who will make mountains out of every molehill the Toronto Maple Leafs come across.
Last night the Toronto Maple Leafs lost to the Coyotes for the second time this year.
Some people will try to make a big deal out of that in order to justify their completely wrong takes about the Leafs.
The Leafs outplayed the Coyotes and would normally win that game nine times out of ten, meaning there is nothing to worry about. The Leafs beat Boston, Pittsburgh, Tampa and Carolina already this year. Beating top teams in November doesn’t matter, but neither does losing to bottom feeders.
Especially when the goalies decide the outcome.
Toronto Maple Leafs vs Arizona Coyotes
The final score was 6-3, but there were 2 x empty net goals. In reality, the Leafs lost a 4-3 game which is a one-goal game, which, in the NHL is usually a coin-flip, due to goalies.
And last night, goalies ruined a good effort.
The Leafs lost 2-1 during the 5v5 portion of the game (49 minutes) despite absolutely crushing their opponent.
The Leafs attempted 45 shots to the Coyotes 26, having the puck for 63% of the time. You will lose very few games you finish with over 60% possession.
The Leafs outshot them 31-18, while getting 61% of the scoring chances, and 56% of the high-danger chances.
Timothy Liljegren lead the team in 5v5 icetime, and his numbers were very, very good. Paired with he newly returned Morgan Rielly, the Leafs new top pairing was untouchable, dominating the ice for the entire duration of the game.
I’m not sure how many games Nylander and Matthews are going to combine for ten shots, six dangerous scoring chances and zero points, so there really is no reason to dissect this game further, since the answer is probably around zero other games.
Sure, it sucks to lose to Arizona twice in the same year, but these things happen.
Better to point out that this was the 9th game in a row where the Leafs finished the game with a 57% Expected Goals rating or better. That’s is a hot streak that doesn’t rely on the randomness of results or goalies. (stats naturalstattrick.com).
The Leafs are just absolutely destroying every team that crosses their path. Of course, ironically, the last time the Leafs didn’t crush their opponent, they won 4-0 against Dallas.
It’s a game between Christmas and New Years, on the road, in Arizona, against a terrible team in an arena that is worse than any random kid’s arena in southern Ontario. Not worth worrying about a lousy result when the team kicked $$$. Sure, the goalie could have been better. That’s hockey.