Toronto Maple Leafs: Dominant road win proves curse of Scotiabank Arena

The Toronto Maple Leafs picked up a big win on the road against the Pittsburgh Penguins proving that there is no rational explanation for their struggles at Scotiabank Arena.

Over the past week, the Toronto Maple Leafs offence has been in purgatory leaving many scratching their heads and frustrated. There seems to be only one logical conclusion, Scotiabank Arena is cursed and the cure was getting on the road, even if it was just for a night.

Saturday night’s 5-0 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins was the perfect outcome for the team with a relentless approach on offence, the defence smothering the opposition and Frederik Andersen making the saves when called upon. In a way, you could say the Leafs gave the Penguins a taste of their own medicine.

It was not long ago that Pittsburgh shut down the Leafs 3-0 at Scotiabank Arena and in the four home games after that, Toronto could only score six goals with three of those coming in one game against the Winnipeg Jets.

Watching the Leafs it was evident that their speed gave the Penguins problems in the early going and of course getting the first goal allowed them to set the tone as Lux Fox of Sportsnet pointed out. 

John Tavares and Mitch Marner helped get the Leafs going with great plays at both ends especially Tavares who had a tough assignment against Sidney Crosby but was up to the task. Kasperi Kapanen used his speed to create havoc setting up Patrick Marleau and Morgan Rielly for goals.

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This was a performance to be proud of but is leaving some wondering why this can’t happen at home where teams are supposed to have the advantage. Last season they had 32 wins in 49 games at home and scored 102 goals which was good for fourth in the league.

In their eight games at home, the Leafs have a 3-5 record with 10 goals for and 13 goals against compared to last season when they were 5-3 with 21 goals for and 22 goals against. Ironically, Toronto struggled to keep the puck out of the net but made up for it with their offence and still had strong possession metrics.

Maybe with Auston Matthews and William Nylander not in the lineup the team is prioritizing matching up defensively at home rather than let the offence be the strength of their team. You notice on the road that the team is more calm and confident

"“We’re looking forward to getting home,” Rielly said to reporters after the game. “It’s important we get some wins at home. We feel good about going on the road, but it’s time we start to assert ourselves.”"

The Leafs are 4-0 when they score the first goal of the game something they haven’t done at home yet so that should be the focal point to the gameplan on Tuesday against the Vegas Golden Knights.

Not only do they need to score first but get it in the opening period because it will mean a lot to their confidence which seems to be an important part of the Leafs game.

What did you think about the performance against the Penguins? Can the Leafs repeat this formula going forward and replicate this at home? Let us know in the comments below.