At the end of October, the atmosphere in Toronto, which is alive with hockey, already started to tighten. The local Maple Leafs had made the traditional three-game trip to California south of the border and hadn’t picked up a single win.
However, the Leafs turned their course quickly and spectacularly.
After the first day of November, the team lost only one of 19 matches in regular time. No less than fourteen wins were accumulated. Suddenly, Toronto was the hottest team in the league.
Toronto is currently the third hardest team in the NHL in terms of point percentage (72.4%). Only the Boston Bruins (83.3%) and New Jersey Devils (78.6%) are ahead.
Toronto has shown that it is ready to seriously compete for the world’s most coveted hockey trophy this season, but there are still question marks in the air.
Urheilu’s ice hockey expert Ismo Lehkonen opens up the reasons behind the winning streak, but also raises a few question marks regarding the championship dreams of the spring.
1. Top strikers in a frenzy – “Enjoyable to watch”
When it comes to Toronto’s approximately six weeks of hot season, the star players of the team’s offense are at the center of everything. Austin Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander and John Tavares have hit the scoreboard at a furious pace. The trio has done 1.11. after 44 of the team’s 66 goals, i.e. two out of three.
The situation causes a headache for the opponents in terms of playing, because Marner, who is on a 23-match scoring streak, and last season’s goal king Matthews play in different chains. Tavares works with Marner and Nylander, who is playing the best hockey of his career, works with Matthews.
The situation has turned in such a way that opponents put their best brakemen against Marner’s chain, even though many could say Matthews is Toronto’s most dangerous player. The arrangement is palatable for the Leafs.
– It is enjoyable to watch these boys go. I have sometimes wondered how there is room for these under 180 centimeter people, but there really is and will be in the future for Marner. Marner and Nylander are not the biggest guys, but they dominated there, Urheilu’s expert Lehkonen says.
– These boys are durable, skilled and nimble-footed players who dodge tackles well. And we shouldn’t forget that these guys have the best brake guys on their neck all the time, and yet the power is really hard.
On the open ice and in fast-paced direct attacks, Toronto’s footy and skilled individuals are at home, but even more impressive are the end-game rallies, where goal posts and follow-up plays follow each other, when the attackers chase the puck back after shots.
As a team, Toronto is the league’s second greediest puck stealer, and on an individual level, Marner is the second most greedy among forwards and Matthews the fifth most greedy. Nylander and Tavares can also be found on the list of the top 20 exploiters. From these turnovers, Toronto creates a lot of chances and hits.
– End play is great. It’s the kind of rally without a place to play, where the idea is to break into the core with high-quality passes. The defenders are also actively involved, sometimes from the side and sometimes from the middle. Against that, you should almost play man against man, now many men drown there quite quickly, says Lehkonen.
2. Commitment to the 60m game – “These are matters of choice”
One strong value in Toronto’s play has been the commitment to disciplined five-man play over a distance of sixty meters. In practice, this means that the attackers come quickly – and repeatedly – to the defenders’ aid after losing the puck.
On the other hand, also that the team recognizes the situations. Pucks are not lost as a result of lead mines in critical areas of the court in a way that leads to a flow of superior attacks towards the own goal. Here, the team’s leading players have shown the rest of the group ahead.
In the same breath, it must be stated that on Saturday it was the losses of Marner and Matthews on the offensive blue line that led the visiting team to make a hit. In the big picture, the team has developed significantly in this area.
– Committing to such things has been a big deal in recent weeks. The attackers really come down full force to help the defenders. I believe that the coaching has shown quite a lot of bad stuff on video and stated that these are selection issues. Whether we want to be a winning team or not.
3. Question marks in the defensive end and in the goalkeeping department
In Toronto’s case, you can’t react too strongly to a 20-game hot streak in the regular season. When we talk about the Maple Leafs, we’re also talking about a team that has been in the second round of the playoffs for the last time in the spring of 2004. Fall hype means nothing to Toronto if the team doesn’t succeed in the spring.
Now the question is: is this season’s Toronto truly ready to contend for a championship?
Before the start of the season, the goaltending department was one of the biggest question marks. Suffered a lot from injuries in his career, acquired from Ottawa Matt Murray didn’t get much credit, and neither did the second keeper Ilya Samsonov more than that.
The Veskars have played in the upper register so far, but Toronto also has a clear memory of last season. Then Jack Campbell played excellently until the epiphany, but was far from the level of a champion goalkeeper in the spring season.
The big picture is positive for now, as Toronto’s save percentage as a team has dropped from last season’s 89.9 to 91.8. The goalkeepers have had peace of mind if Murray slipped behind at least a couple of easier shots on Saturday. The goaltending battle in Toronto is always behind only a couple of weaker matches.
– Murray has taken the stand well and both have won games well. Would this be the year when at least the Main Series goes so that there is no need to discuss this matter, Lehkonen thinks.
Is Toronto’s defense at championship level? In any case, there is not too much puckish power at the stern. Morgan Rielly is elite in his playing position, but is there enough depth in the backcourt, especially for playing on pucks? So far, twelve defenders have scored seven goals.
The eyes turn especially to the younger generation To Rasmus Sandin and to Timothy Liljegren. The two have been marinated in Toronto for a long time and hard, but will either of the two really rise to the front row.
– That’s what has been thought about here and it could be that the back end would need some skills in football. In the main series, that orchestra is still good enough.
However, in Lehkonen’s mind, Toronto’s biggest question is related to the depth of the offensive department and the philosophy regarding what kind of hockey the bottom chains are expected to play.
– Coaching has to make this philosophical decision quite quickly. There are two skill chains, but is collision hockey still needed in today’s ice hockey or should we try to go with footwork and skill in the base chains as well. If I could decide, we would go there on foot, but that’s not the case in Toronto now, says Lehkonen.
– Last year, that collision hockey didn’t work and I believe that even now Tampa, Boston and Carolina play it better than Toronto. Coaching has to find a bottom six there, who is ready to accept the challenge and support the top chains.