Dec 29, 2016
Leafs work late again to sweep Florida trip
For the second straight night, the Toronto Maple Leafs took an early two-goal lead and saw it disappear. But following a similar script as they did Wednesday night, the Maple Leafs held on for a 3-2 overtime win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.
TAMPA – For the second straight night, the Toronto Maple Leafs took an early two-goal lead and saw it disappear. But following a similar script as they did Wednesday night, the Maple Leafs held on for a 3-2 overtime win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. It was Toronto’s fourth straight victory, all on the road, and their second set of back-to-back wins this month. It’s the first time Toronto has won five straight on the road overall since 2011. The Maple Leafs move to 16-12-7.
Takeaways
Maturing Maple Leafs: Not long ago, becoming rattled after a blown lead on the road spelled certain defeat for Toronto. Now they are showing the resiliency of a club more veteran than their age shows. As a group the Maple Leafs have preached all season about wanting to play a full 60 minutes and not take their foot off the gas. While that hasn’t been executed to perfection yet, good goaltending and ever-increasing confidence that they can stay in and compete with teams in tight games has played a major role in helping them minimize the damage of their lapses.
Bad boys, bad boys: The last time the Maple Leafs took fewer than four penalties in a game was on Dec. 10 against Boston. They were called for five more against Tampa, three in the first period alone. Mike Babcock has said ad nauseam that his team must be more disciplined, but they continue to take stick penalties galore. The Maple Leafs have amassed 387 penalty minutes this season to rank eighth in the league. Each penalty kill keeps Toronto’s most productive scorers – Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander among them – off the ice and out of a rhythm, which is what Toronto wants to avoid. They have now killed 19 straight penalties over four games.
Bibeau on the board: Before Thursday night’s game, Toronto had gotten only one point and zero victories out of their backup goaltenders in five contests. Antoine Bibeau finally changed that tune, securing his first NHL win in his second big-league start. A rough second period for Toronto’s defence helped put too goals behind him. But the rookie made enough big-time saves, including on a two-on-one break and against a sensational chance by Valtteri Filppula, to preserve the tie and get to overtime. In the extra frame, Bibeau drew the penalty that put Toronto on the power play and ultimately led to Nazem Kadri’s game-winning goal. Bibeau turned aside 25 shots for a .926 save percentage.
Consistently inconsistent: As good as Toronto’s penalty kill has been, the power play has been as up and down as a see-saw. After producing four goals in their last three games, that unit was anemic once again against the Lightning. The four opportunities they had in regulation were mostly lethargic – Toronto failed to get set up in the Lightning zone and relied too heavily on drop passes that could be easily swatted aside or picked up by the Bolts’ penalty killers. Too often this season the Maple Leafs have been passive with the man advantage and it costs them opportunities to potentially close out opponents. They have worked to eradicate it with practice and need to continue doing so.
Next game: Toronto returns home to face the Detroit Red Wings in the Centennial Classic on January 1. There is already a buzz around the room amongst players who weren’t with the club for their Winter Classic in 2014 but are hoping for a similarly snowy experience.