Toronto Maple Leafs: What needs to change going into Game 3 vs. Bruins
Keep the Bruins out of the slot
Some of the Bruins goals on Saturday came off turnovers and defensive breakdowns but the one area Boston tries to generate most of their chances in the slot.
It’s obviously an area most teams try to exploit and the Bruins did it with great success in Game 2. There is an account on Twitter called The Point Hockey that offers an offensive comparison between both teams and one thing they track is shots generated in the slot.
Toronto showed signs of life in the third period, but it was too little, too late as the Bruins win Game 2 in dominant fashion. Series heads to Toronto tied 1-1 #NHLBruins #LeafsForever #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/h0nsGLacgx
— LogiqBets (@LogiqBets) April 14, 2019
Looking at the numbers, it is concerning to see the Leafs get out-chanced 20-8 in the slot. what is shows is that the Leafs struggled to close the gap on the Bruins shooters. This will have to change if Toronto wants to have success as they did in Game 1.
When you look back at the numbers from the first game of the series, the Leafs limited the Bruins chances to start the game while also generating some themselves. Once they took the lead, Toronto struggled to keep the Boston out of the slot getting outshot 18-13 but Frederik Andersen stood tall.
As good as Andersen was in Games 1 and 2, the Leafs need to force the Bruins to the outside because right now Boston knows they can get to the slot. Another way is to have more active sticks in the passing lanes and close the gaps