The Toronto Maple Leafs have enjoyed success in November as their high-powered offense has kicked into gear, but the goal-scoring has been mostly at home and has been absent on the road.
The 6-1 victory over the Florida Panthers on Thursday marked the seventh victory at Air Canada Center in nine games, where they are averaging more than four goals per game. The win was the fourth time that the club has scored six goals (all at home) and currently the Leafs are tied for fourth in the NHL with 56 goals scored.
Part of the reason for their success at home has been the improved performance of goalie Frederik Andersen and head coach Mike Babcock’s using the last change to his advantage for matchup purposes.
After a sluggish October, (2-2-3 with an .873 save percentage), Andersen has rebounded this month with a a 6-2-0 record and .930 save percentage.
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Babcock at home has attempted to match up the more experienced Tyler Bozak and Nazem Kadri lines and the pairing of Morgan Rielly and Nikita Zaitsev against the opposition’s top offensive units, while protecting the “Kid Line… of Zach Hyman, Auston Matthews and William Nylander and less mobile/less experienced defensive pairings.
Toronto started the season with some offensive success on the road, scoring four times against Ottawa, Winnipeg and Chicago, but those games ended as overtime/shootout losses due to the young club’s defensive deficiencies and Andersen’s early struggles.
In their five other road games, the Leafs have scored two goals or less and only won once (a superlative 42-save effort by Andersen on November 3rd in Buffalo), which has to be a concern, as Toronto finishes out the month with four of their remaining six games on the road, beginning with their second visit to the Bell Centre in Montreal on Saturday.
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After more than three weeks on the road, the Toronto Marlies make their return to Ricoh Coliseum this weekend with back-to-back games against the St. Johns Ice Caps.
The Marlies went 3-2-1 on their six-game road trip and have a perfect 5-0 home record at home.
Saturday’s game will be the fifth and final of Josh Leivo’s AHL conditioning stint. The 23-year-old was placed on the non-roster injury list after training camp and has gone pointless in four games with the Marlies.
Toronto will either have to place the winger on their 23-man roster or place Leivo on waivers to be demoted to the AHL. If the Leafs decide to keep Leivo, the likely candidates for being sent down are Peter Holland or Frank Corrado (who would also require waivers) or Nikita Soshnikov (who is waiver exempt).
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