Well the boys are coming off a frustrating loss against the Washington Capitals on Saturday night. The team as a whole played decent, but there still seems to be room for a lot of improvement. A more consistent effort for a full sixty minutes each game night will really help the team prepare for what us fans are hoping for a deep playoff run.
With the Eastern Conference being as tight as it is it would be nice for the Leafs to string together a few winning streaks here and there like they have and continue to gain ground on the bubble teams who are leap-frogging in and out of the wildcard spots.
Speaking of consistency, it would be a much less stressful game if the referees were consistently on the same page. It seems as if the last handful of games has been staggered with some serious grey zone (questionable) calls and some eye-popping non calls primarily against Auston Matthews. I get he’s the Leafs most dangerous player and other teams have to play him hard, but the stick work was something the National Hockey League has worked hard at reducing and it just seems like number 34 is getting abused constantly without any punishment for the opposition.
Ok rant complete, I feel better already.
The Leafs have three games this week and will start with the Calgary Flames on Tuesday night. The Flames have been scoring a lot of goals and have a similar record to the Leafs. Thursday the blue and white will face off against Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers, I am looking forward to seeing Kadri matchup against McDavid. Last year Kadri did a great job shutting down Connor and the way Nazem has been playing this season it wouldn’t surprise me to see him repeat the shutdown role with great success yet again. Surprisingly the Canucks are in the plus with a positive record and have a new top line this season that is a major threat.
Andersen is likely to get three starts this week and the Maple Leafs will certainly be counting on him to continue his hot play. I’m confident the boys can begin a quality win streak this week that could continue to the following week as the Leafs will host both Calgary and Edmonton at the Air Canada Centre.
Matthews continues to lead the Leafs in points with 23 and solid +13. Surprisingly he only has one power play goal, but that seems to be where James van Riemsdyk cashes in the majority of his goals causing havoc a foot outside the oppositions crease. Both JVR and Matthews share the team lead in goals with twelve a piece.
Morgan Rielly has actually been quite productive this year, certainly off to a career best in points for. The Leafs brass is surely pleased with Morgan’s production (3g, 14a) in just 25 games.
Toronto is still sitting pretty in second place in the Atlantic, just three points back of Tampa Bay, but have played two games more. It’s a tight race and there is still a lot of hockey left to be played in the season.
Babcock is still fine tuning the engine as he continues to mix up the lines when things get stale. Soshnikov may get another taste or two here and there but he certainly hasn’t done anything warranting keeping up with the big club on a nightly basis. Even with limited ice time, he has zero shots on goal and it’s his shot that is his biggest weapon. If Soshnikov wants to stay in the mix he’s going to have to generate some shots. Leivo has played in six games and has a goal and an assist, but 10 shots on goal. Keep in mind a few of those have been on the power play, which Soshnikov doesn’t see ice time for.
Either way, I don’t see either of these players having major impacts on the team but it’s good to keep them in the mix in case there is an injury or trade.
Hope everyone had a great weekend; let’s hope the boys can have a quality Western Canada road trip.
Thanks for reading!