4 Reasons Why the Toronto Maple Leafs Lost Game 4
The Toronto Maple Leafs are down 3-1 in their series against the Boston Bruins.
It now appears that for the eight straight season, the Toronto Maple Leafs will send their fans home disappointed.
Game Four was a complete failure for the Leafs. They came out flat, and things didn't get better from there. Their stars were caught yelling at each other on the bench, and they once again failed spectacularly on special teams.
Let's break down the four main reason for their poor performance.
1) The Toronto Maple Leafs Power-play Woes
There is really nothing wrong with the Leafs offense.
According to ESPN, the Leafs have shot 100 times into the Bruins net, which is good enough to be labelled as a significant threat. In fact, that is good enough for being the third highest in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Yes, even higher than the Bruins.
Where they really struggle with the Bruins is in special teams.
Coming into Game Four, the Leafs were 9.1% on the powerplay. That was the third worst in the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Bruins? Second at 50%.
And those problems carried into tonight's game.
The Leafs had three powerplay opportunities and could not come up with a goal in either one.
After tonight’s game the Leafs have had success in 1-of-14 powerplays in the series, whereas the Bruins have scored in 6-of-13 powerplays. That ALSO puts the Leafs penalty killing unit into question…heavily.
2) Jeremy Swayman
According to ESPN, Jeremy Swayman has been impenetrable with a .955% save, the highest in the playoffs and conceded the least number of goals (1.51 goals against per game). That too coming against an offensive powered team like the Leafs.
In Game Four, he continued his good form as he made 24 saves and nearly registered a shutout.
In total, for the series, the Bruins have saved over 94% of the shots, while the Leafs have saved under 88%.
3) Bruins Defense
If Swayman was tough enough to handle, the Leafs faithful needs to be aware of the Bruins’ ability to block the puck. In fact, it is this skill that arguably won this game for the Bruins. For starters, according to ESPN, the Bruins had 27 blocked shots whereas the Leafs had six.
In the first period, the Bruins had 12 total blocked shots. Defenseman Brandon Carlo was on the ice when eight of them happened. On the other hand, the Leafs had three blocked shots in the first period.
The Leafs would also go cold turkey on blocked shots in the vast majority of the second period until the 16:33 mark.
4) Unforced Errors
The Leafs needed to be on their A-game going up against the mighty Bruins. That meant taking advantage of every opportunity available and not making any unnecessary mistakes. That was unfortunately not the case with the Leafs in Game Four.
At the 4:54 mark of the first period, Tyler Bertuzzi had a golden opportunity to score off a pass by Mitch Marner in the slot and nail a power-play goal, but was unsuccessful. You don’t get too many opportunities to catch Swayman off-guard like that and the Leafs needed to capitalize.
The giveaway by Ryan Reaves at 14:08 of the first period which led to the Bruins goal was inexcusable.
The cross-checking penalty by Max Domi in the second period proved to be costly as the Bruins scored off the ensuing powerplay.
William Nylander’s holding penalty in the third period may not have led to a Bruins power-play goal, but it came at a time when the Leafs were gaining steam and were outshooting the Bruins 13-to-3 in the final period.
Final Thoughts
At 5-on-5 hockey, the Leafs can hold their own with the Bruins as they have outshot them 193-to-156, according to naturalstattrick.com
It’s penetrating the Bruins’ blue line and getting past Swayman that needs to be the key.
Being better at special teams certainly helps.
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The Bruins now lead the series 3-1. The series shifts back to TD Garden for Game Five where the Leafs must win to stay alive in the series.