Toronto Maple Leafs going in right direction but still have work to do
After going 3-1 on their western road trip, the Toronto Maple Leafs are getting results but still have areas to improve on if they want to make up ground.
Sometimes when a team suffers a couple of tough losses a road trip can help get things back on track and you can say that the Toronto Maple Leafs were able to do that.
After suffering an embarrassing loss to the Philadelphia Flyers and failing to get things going against the Colorado Avalanche, Toronto couldn’t afford to have more letdowns. Let’s just say going 3-1 on a road trip where they could have easily gone 4-0 is a step in the right direction.
However, as good as that road trip was, the Leafs still find themselves behind the Montreal Canadiens and Buffalo Sabres which speaks to how much work still needs to be done to get this team back to the expectations placed on them.
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The issues the Leafs face are obvious, they have been riding Frederik Andersen for the past seven games and in two of those, he had to stand on his head to give the Leafs a chance.
While it would be nice for the Leafs to try and make Andersen’s job easier, it is his job to keep the puck out of the net and there aren’t many goalies in the NHL who have it easy. However, against the Vancouver Canucks, the Leafs got caught sleeping in the third period forcing Andersen to bail them out and against Calgary, he wasn’t able to do that and it cost them.
In the 10 games since Sheldon Keefe has taken over as head coach, John Tavares has been the Leafs best forward with seven goals and 11 points in 10 games, Zach Hyman has five goals and points while Auston Matthews had four goals and seven points and William Nylander has five points in the same stretch.
Clearly, the Leafs are getting production from their players but you could say that Matthews and Nylander haven’t been performing at the level expected of them and they have drawn heat for it.
Pension Plan Puppets looked at whether there was truth to the narrative that Matthews isn’t being as assertive on a consistent basis. What they are noticing is that Matthews is still possessing the puck at a high rate but isn’t shooting like he used to.
If the Leafs want to rise above the teams that sit ahead of them in the Atlantic Division, they are going to need the Matthews line to be more of an impact on a consistent basis. Considering how much he is being paid, that shouldn’t be too much to ask for.
Next. Leafs need to figure out their backup goalie situation quickly. dark
What are your thoughts on the Leafs play lately? Has it been good enough to make them contenders again or are there still areas to improve? Let us know in the comments below.