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Toronto Maple Leafs: Five Trending Storylines From the Season So Far

By David Morassutti

Dec 7, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock during a break in the ation against the Minnesota Wild at the Air Canada Centre. Minnesota defeated Toronto 3-2. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 7, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock during a break in the ation against the Minnesota Wild at the Air Canada Centre. Minnesota defeated Toronto 3-2. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports /
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Toronto Maple Leafs
Dec 3, 2016; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks forward Brandon Sutter (20) shoots the game winning goal against Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Frederik Andersen (31) during the shootout at Rogers Arena. The Vancouver Canucks won 3-2 in a shoot out. Mandatory Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports /

Areas to Improve

There is always room for teams to improve and the Leafs are no different. They have done a good job to establish the system and expectations for their players but it has had its ups and downs.

One notable issues that the Leafs have struggled with is their play on the road. With a 2-6-5 record the Leafs will need to find a way to improve their play on the road especially their defensive play. It also helps that they have an 8-4 record at home, but imagine if they had a .500 record on the road it could mean a better position in the standings. This will be a learning curve for the young players to play better on the road, especially when the team does not have the advantage with choosing which lines to matchup with.

The other is trying to get more out of their defensemen because there are times where the skill level drops significantly, particularly with players like Martin Marincin, Roman Polak and Matt Hunwick. Those players were expected to bring stability to the backend but they have not done that.

Marincin has had a couple of games where it looks like he is improving but he lacks the consistency that the Leafs need every night. It is troubling to see Frankie Corrado sit in the press box so that Hunwick and Polak can continue to get consistent ice-time. One game is not enough to judge Corrado on and it does not hurt to sit Marincin, Polak or Hunwick so that Corrado can get an opportunity.

It would be nice to see the Leafs get some level of positive consistent play from their four, five and six defencemen because they have only gotten consistent mediocre play from them.

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