The Toronto Maple Leafs haven’t exactly sprinted out of the gate this season, but one part of their game has been airtight from the start.
At 1-2-0 after Saturday night’s loss to the Ottawa Senators, the record doesn’t look pretty. Still, the Leafs have looked better than that number suggests, and the games have been a lot more entertaining than last season’s version. Even with the uneven start, there’s been one constant through three games: Toronto’s penalty kill has been flawless.
The Leafs are a perfect 10-for-10 shorthanded to begin the season, and that kind of start deserves attention.
A big reason for the early success is the work being done by the penalty-killing group, especially the new faces who have stepped into major roles and handled the job without missing a beat. Colton Sissons has led the way with 9:16 of shorthanded ice time, while Nick Paul, Teddy Blueger, and Brandon Duhaime have all logged more than eight minutes on the kill as well.
That matters because this isn’t a group with a long history together. These forwards came in, learned on the fly, and have already helped form a unit that has not given up a power-play goal through three games.
The defensive backbone has been strong too. Jake McCabe and Chris Tanev have been even better than expected on the back end, shutting down inside scoring chances and giving the Leafs a reliable duo on the blue line and on the penalty kill.
There’s more to the story than just the zero in the goals-against column, too. Toronto isn’t simply surviving because the goaltender has bailed everyone out.
According to Evolving-Hockey, the Leafs rank 11th in the NHL in shots on goal against per 60 while shorthanded. The sample is tiny, but that’s where things stand right now.
The numbers get a little less flattering when it comes to shot volume. Toronto is 24th in shot attempts against rate, 22nd in unblocked shot attempts against rate, and 24th in expected goals against rate on the penalty kill. So there’s still room to clean things up.
Even so, the key stuff is getting done. The Leafs aren’t giving up shots on goal, and they aren’t giving up goals.
That’s a strong place to be, especially after last season, when penalty killing was already one of the team’s better areas. Toronto finished with the sixth-fewest goals against per 60 while shorthanded, and if this early run continues under a new coaching staff with a reshaped unit, it could become one of the team’s defining strengths again.
The next chance to keep that streak alive comes next Tuesday, when the Maple Leafs host the Nashville Predators.
In Other News...
Maple Leafs Suddenly Have A John Tavares Problem They Cant Ignore
The Maple Leafs search for a dependable second-line centre has become one of the quieter pressures on the roster, even as the club keeps tinkering with its forward groups and looking for the right fit behind the top line. John Tavares remains a central part of the lineup, but the early-season discussion around Toronto has shifted toward whether his place is best used in a different role than the one he has traditionally filled.
At the same time, the fix is not simple. Toronto has room to work with under the cap, but not enough flexibility to treat this as a quick upgrade, especially with limited trade chips after recent moves. That leaves the front office weighing lineup changes against roster construction, and whether the answer is internal reshuffling, an outside addition, or something more awkward that the Leafs would rather not have to confront for long. [Read more 🡒]
John Tavares Is Forcing A Leafs Decision They Can't Ignore
John Tavares has opened the NHL season with two assists in Torontos first three games, but the early returns around his game have sparked a bigger conversation inside the Maple Leafs lineup. The production is still there in spots, yet the way he is moving has prompted a closer look at whether his long-time role down the middle still fits best in this stage of his career.
For Toronto, the issue is bigger than one players stat line. If Tavares is better suited to a different spot, the Leafs have to sort out what comes next at second-line center and whether help from outside the organization becomes part of the equation. Names are already circulating, and the front office may soon have to decide if it can solve this internally or if a bigger swing is needed. [Read more 🡒]
Maple Leafs Head To Nashville With One Frustrating Lineup Question
The Maple Leafs hit the ice Monday in practice ahead of Tuesday nights meeting with the Nashville Predators, and the look of the group remained unchanged despite some obvious concern about how the second line has been functioning. Toronto has leaned on its speed and on a penalty kill that has been a real strength, and that figures to matter against a Nashville power play that can punish teams if they spend too much time chasing the puck.
Jim Hiller still has plenty to sort through, though, especially with the forward groups not yet producing the kind of balance the Leafs want. For now, the club is sticking with the same structure it used in practice, leaving one of the more frustrating lineup questions hanging as the team heads into a road test that could say plenty about where this group is headed. [Read more 🡒]