In their tumultuous first half of the season, the Toronto Maple Leafs at times looked as if they could give top echelon teams in the NHL a run for their money and appeared in other instances to have no concept of doing what it takes to play a winning brand of hockey.
After an uninspired and inauspicious start to the Peter Horachek era against the Washington Capitals on Wednesday, the Leafs played one of their more complete games of the season in a 5-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets at Air Canada Center on Friday.
Toronto ended the three-game losing streak that was the final nail in the coffin for former head coach Randy Carlyle by playing the more defensively responsible game that he had implored them to play for most of the season, limiting the red-hot Blue Jackets to just 20 shots on goal.
The Leafs also benefited from the offensive awakening of top liners Phil Kessel and Tyler Bozak, who each scored and added an assist in four-goal first period outburst following Ryan Johansen’s opening goal.
Bozak tied the game midway through the first with a bank shot off of defenseman Cody Goloubef’s skate and put Toronto in the lead for good with a behind-the-net feed to Daniel Winnik, while Kessel converted on a 5-on-3 power play for the eventual game winner and assisted on James van Riemsdyk’s power play goal less than a minute later.
“I thought there was a clear focus yesterday and a clear focus this morning. I felt it. I was worried about them being nervous again because I thought the first game (on Wednesday night) they all seemed a little tight and nervous.… Leafs interim coach Peter Horachek said following the game. “They did a great job. There certainly was a positive pull there. Guys were saying on the bench, ‘just keep going, we’ll get back at it, we’ll get it back.’ You could feel the positive energy.…
One noticeable difference after two games with Horachek at the helm has been a redistribution of ice time, rewarding players for positive performances. Daniel Winnik played 17:36 as the defensive reinforcement for the Bozak-Kessel combo and scored in his second straight game.
Richard Panik saw a season-high 17:40 TOI playing on the second line with Nazem Kadri and van Riemsdyk, while sophomore Morgan Rielly played nearly 22 minutes with defensive partner Roman Polak. The pairing went a collective +5 on the evening.
Conversely, struggling blueliner Jake Gardiner played just 16:22 against Columbus, the lowest ice time of any Toronto defenseman.
The performance on Friday is encouraging in the sense that Toronto is capable of playing the type of hockey that has a better chance at ending in victory, but it is tough for the organization to be infused with confidence after their Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde act this season. The Leafs will be put to the test starting Monday, as they open a four-game Western road swing against the Stanley Cup Champion Kings in Los Angeles.
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Leafs Team President Brendan Shanahan did not reveal much detail about turning around his struggling club or make any bold pronouncements during the mid-season press availability on Friday, but it is clear that the patience of Leafs management is wearing thin and that changes will be coming, even if the club has a turnaround under interim coach Peter Horachek.
The approach of walking softly and carrying a big stick may be the better course of action based on how successful former Leafs GM Brian Burke and Edmonton’s Craig MacTavish were at making promises of sweeping changes.
The focus of criticism on Phil Kessel this week has been slightly unfair to the winger, as his lack of deftness with the press only contributed to the furor.
In many ways, Kessel is the poster child for the haphazard assemblage of the Leafs core group.
Kessel is one of the most gifted scorers in the NHL and would be a valuable asset as a complementary piece on a contending team with a strong work ethic, solid defensive structure and a deep leadership group(as fellow American Patrick Kane is with the Chicago Blackhawks), but the Leafs do not have Chicago’s depth of talent(Hossa, Sharp, Saad, Seabrook, Keith, Hjarmalsson) or a top center like Jonathan Toews. Dion Phaneuf is miscast not only as Toronto’s team captain, but as a top pairing defenseman. Many of the core group (Kessel, Bozak, Phaneuf, Joffrey Lupul, James Reimer and Jake Gardiner) are on their third head coach and former and current players have observed that this group have no interest in playing the price in the defensive zone to win because it is hard work.
The task for Shanahan and his management group has to be to rebuild the Leafs roster so that Kessel does not factor into any leadership role.
As has been the case since the departure of Mats Sundin, Toronto’s most pressing need is to acquire a top line center. *******If you are interested in sponsorship or advertising your business in the Greater Toronto / Southern Ontario area on this column, please send a message for more information by clicking on the “Contact… button at the top of the page.*******
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