Columnist image

TSN Toronto Maple Leafs Reporter

| Archive

TORONTO – The Maple Leafs snapped a three-game losing skid Tuesday with a 2-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning, but the team failed to score an even-strength goal for the third consecutive game – just the third time in the past 19 seasons the team has gone that long without finding the back of the net at 5-on-5.

“Certainly, with our ability to score and the type of players we have, it's definitely a little surprising,” said John Tavares of the drought after Toronto’s practice on Wednesday. “At this time of year, especially with where we're at, every point is so important. Hockey games are tight; teams are fighting for a lot of positioning, a lot of key points. Some of it could just be getting a bounce or two. We’ve had some good looks and we just haven't capitalized. But it's a little bit [weird].”

Prior to last week’s dismal three-game California road trip where the Leafs managed just three goals, Toronto had scored the second most even-strength goals in the NHL (110) since Sheldon Keefe took over as head coach on Nov. 20.

The offence all but dried up for Toronto on its west coast swing though. After Mitch Marner scored in the second period of the Leafs' first game at San Jose, they were shut out by the Los Angeles Kings two nights later, and then William Nylander netted a 6-on-5 goal in the final minutes of a loss to Anaheim to end the trip – a stretch of 144 minutes and 30 seconds without lighting the lamp at all. 

Toronto then returned home to top Tampa on the strength of two power-play goals, but finishing again with no even-strength success. The last time Toronto went three games without converting at 5-on-5 was Nov. 17-21, 2015, and prior to that, March 28-31, 2001.

"I think part of it is the teams we've been playing,” Keefe reasoned. “We've been playing against some teams that have done a really good job defensively; they don't give up much. But, also, I think the injuries on defence [to Morgan Rielly and Jake Muzzin] have made it harder. You're not necessarily attacking as a five-man group as [we] once were, so a lot more has been on the forwards in that sense.”​

Rielly returned for the Leafs in Tuesday’s game after missing eight weeks with a broken foot, generating one shot in 21:47 time on ice. Despite not scoring at 5-on-5, Keefe felt the positive momentum his club generated up front, particularly in a 17-shot first period, was due in part to having Rielly back.

“I think Morgan's addition will help us [generate offence] and I thought we did generate more than enough opportunities in and around the net,” Keefe said. “It's the best that our offence has been in a long time and I think Morgan's presence is a really positive sign there. But it's just a matter of us staying with it and we think it will start to come.”

Keefe had shuffled his forward lines ahead of Tuesday’s game, moving Mitch Marner down to play with Tavares and Kasperi Kapanen while Nylander went onto a unit with Auston Matthews and Zach Hyman.

The change produced some of the desired results for Toronto, with that top-six collectively accounting for 17 of 36 shots on the Lightning.

“We're definitely getting looks,” insisted Marner. “I think that first period [on Tuesday] we got the looks that we wanted and we were around that net getting second opportunities that we wanted, they just didn't go in. Obviously we're not happy with that, but when it happens, our power play can do a good job instead.”

That was the case for at least one game, but the Leafs’ power play hadn’t converted in five straight games (0-for-14) going into Tuesday’s matchup. It’s another example of Toronto’s season-long inconsistency, where one aspect of the team’s play will rebound while another starts lagging slightly behind.

With only 12 regular-season contests remaining and a slim three-point margin over the Florida Panthers for third place in the Atlantic Division, that’s not a scenario the Leafs can afford to have continue. But being back on a winning track has Toronto convinced its complete game isn’t too far out of reach, with a meeting against the Nashville Predators looming on Thursday. 

“When you're just able to get on the board, it breeds confidence,” said Tavares. “You want to get rewarded for the good things you're doing. We didn't get rewarded the last couple of games but I think there were good things coming and we finally broke through [on the power play], which was key for us. That goes a long way with what you know you're able to do at even strength as well.”