Columnist image

TSN Toronto Maple Leafs Reporter

| Archive

The Toronto Maple Leafs nearly let one slip away in Carolina on Friday night, but the visitors held off a late surge from their hosts to top the Hurricanes 5-4. The victory snapped the Leafs’ two-game losing streak and moved them to 15-8-1 on the season. 

TAKEAWAYS

Too slow for comfort

The Leafs have emphasized the importance of improving their starts. So far, they’ve struggled to realize those ambitions. In each of their last three games, Toronto has been outshot and outplayed for most or all of the first period and relied on Frederik Andersen to keep them afloat; the same held true in Carolina. Not only were they being hemmed into their own zone and getting outshot 11-1 in the first 11 minutes of the game, but they also took two penalties in the first 13 minutes. By the end of the frame, the Leafs were trailing 14-4 on the shot counter (and 31-7 in shot attempts), and have now given up a league-worst 281 shots in the opening frame this season. The Leafs’ prospects would have been dire if not for a couple of terrific saves by Andersen in the first 20 minutes – one with the stub of his stick against Teuvo Teravainen and an even tougher glove stop on Victor Rask. Toronto found their legs early in the second period and dominated that frame, but why it’s taking them until then to start working is an issue head coach Mike Babcock is eager to uproot. As the game wore on, the Leafs held a three-goal lead twice and saw it evaporate into a one-goal win, thanks to the same lapses (turnovers, poor zone exits and clears) that put them on their heels in the first period. Andersen finished the night with 43 saves and a .915 save percentage to help hold the Hurricanes at bay. The Leafs netminder hasn’t just been their best player this month, but also the best around the league, holding a .938 save percentage in November to pace all starters and is tied for the lead in wins (seven). 

Depth of scoring

The Hurricanes entered Friday’s game giving up the sixth-fewest goals in the NHL (57), but once the Leafs found their footing in the middle frame, the scores came in bunches. Scoreless after the first, Toronto held a 3-0 lead after 11:37 – and it wasn’t their usual suspects lighting the lamp. Zach Hyman opened the floodgates with his fifth goal of the year, a play started by capitalizing on a Hurricanes’ miscue along the boards. Nazem Kadri had the second assist on Hyman’s goal, extending his career-high point streak to nine games. Then Josh Leivo tallied his first of the season with a top-shelf snipe over Cam Ward. Four minutes later, it was Ron Hainsey, making his return to Carolina for the first time since the team traded him to Pittsburgh last February, extending the lead for Toronto with his second of the season. Both of Hainsey’s goals as a Leaf have come against his former teams (the first was in Montreal). The trio of unanswered goals came on just six shots by Toronto. Friday was only the second time in five games the Leafs had scored more than one goal in a game, further highlighting the importance of this secondary scoring. While the Leafs want their stars like Auston Matthews (one assist), Mitch Marner (zero points) and William Nylander (one assist) in on the action, being able to get it done without them from time to time is a boost in its own right. 

Cause for concern? 

The Leafs have given up a lot of goals this season (68, tied for ninth-most in the NHL), so it’s not exactly surprising they’ve also given up a lot of shots (32.4 per game, also tied for ninth-most in the league). On Friday they’d ceded more than 40 shots on goal with over eight minutes left in the third period, marking the third time this year they’ve allowed at least that many shots. The Leafs were outshot 47-25 on the night. The last time Toronto held an opponent to less than 30 shots on net was against the Vegas Golden Knights on Nov. 6; in 24 games this season, only four teams have had 30 or fewer shots against Toronto. However, despite the figures, the Leafs have the most wins this season (11) when they’re being outshot. That could speak to how Toronto often jumps out to leads and opponents are chasing the game, or to how well Andersen has played, especially down this last stretch. But as they saw on Friday, a busy goaltender can also become prone to mistakes. Noah Hanifin’s goal, a soft one facilitated by a Matthews turnover in the defensive zone, brought Carolina to within one with 4:11 left in the third and was Carolina’s 46th shot on net. The Leafs did a better job in the second period of limiting the Hurricanes’ chances by winning more one-on-one battles and taking away the time and space Carolina had to establish their speed game in the first. But the Leafs didn’t do it consistently through the final 40 minutes; when they do, it makes a big difference in how busy their goaltender’s night is. 

Lose the (stats) battle, win the war

In their first meeting of the season, the Leafs felt that their poor night in the faceoff dot (47 per cent) gave the Hurricanes too many good scoring opportunities off the draw which they used to advantage in the 6-3 victory. On Friday, their faceoff numbers were actually worse by the end (45 per cent), with three of the Leafs’ four centres operating at 50 per cent or less. But Toronto did a better job after the first period of not letting the Hurricanes get set up off the draw and pushing pucks out of the zone or to the outside. Still, Carolina bested Toronto handily in puck possession, dominating every period in that category and finishing at 70 per cent. The Leafs’ best frame was the second, when they approached 50 per cent and scored four of their five goals on the night. It was in that period the Leafs recorded their only four high-danger scoring chances of the game, while the Hurricanes had 18 over 60 minutes. 

Next game

The Leafs return home to face the Washington Capitals on Saturday at 7 p.m.