Toronto Maple Leafs Secondary Scoring Stepping Up at the Right Time
The Leafs have been enjoying one of their better stretches of the season, including a 7-3 victory over the Washington Capitals on Wednesday night, and while their superstars have been producing, their secondary scoring has been stepping up in a massive way, and at the perfect time.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have been playing some good hockey as of late.
The team has enjoyed a 13-4-1 stretch over their past 18 games, climbing out of wild-card territory and into a secure playoff spot.
While it doesn't look like the Toronto Maple Leafs will earn home ice come playoff time, after their recent run the team looks a lot stronger and more capable of making a deep playoff run.
A big reason for this extended stretch of strong play has been the team's secondary scorers, and many of them are finally hitting their stride at the perfect time.
Toronto Maple Leafs Secondary Scoring Stepping Up at the Right Time
Once looking like a glaring weakness earlier in the season, the Leafs secondary scorers are starting to step up just in time for the playoffs. Around the deadline, many wondered if the Leafs would make a trade for a scoring forward to help bolster the group.
While GM Brad Treliving did trade for Connor Dewar, he is a good bottom-six player but not known for his scoring ability.
The likes of Tyler Bertuzzi, Max Domi, and John Tavares (and others) have all stepped up and are overcoming earlier scoring slumps in the season.
Tyler Bertuzzi now has goals in back-to-back games (as well as 8 in his last 12) and is well on pace to finish the season with 20 tallies after scoring just six times in his first 51 games with the Leafs.
Max Domi recorded a season-high four assists in Wednesday's victory against Washington and is now up to seven points in his last five games. Along with Domi and Bertuzzi, captain John Tavares is starting to produce like his former self.
Tavares has racked up ten points in his last three games, and is now on pace for 28 goals and 66 points. Is it worth his $11 million salary? Maybe not. But if you look at his underlying numbers, maybe. But how about a season where he puts up 66 points and nearly 30 goals? For a 33-year-old past his prime, there's nothing wrong with that.
The Leafs have also enjoyed more consistent scoring from the likes of Bobby McMann who also recently signed an extension) and Nick Robertson, both of whom weren't even on the NHL roster last season.
The Leafs forward group matches up well with almost any other team in the NHL, and considering they're either going to play the Boston Bruins or Florida Panthers in the first round of the playoffs, they'll need the entire group to be producing at their best.
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Let's see if they can keep it up.