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Just as the title suggests, there have been some rather significant factors with respect to the success of the Toronto Maple Leafs of late.
While the scoring from their offense hasn’t necessarily fluctuated enough in either direction to make much of an impact in games, the biggest difference between wins and losses continues to be toward their defensive game and system.
For starters, there is no better defense than your goalie - plain and simple. That said, Jon Bernier arguably had one his strongest performance of the year last night against the Tampa Bay Lightning, despite the fact that he often takes 40+ shots a night. In fact, Bernier is now 7-1-2 when facing at least 40 shots for the night, and the Leafs currently hold the best record in terms of games won when being outshot by such a high number.
When looking at this Leafs team, and further their overall game, it’s apparent that the strong play of Jon Bernier has been one of their saving graces. Moreover, it appears that the team has perhaps finally found their starting goaltender to help carry them to any future successes, beyond what the regular season may offer.
And despite the fact that Bernier has been stealing games, there are other factors at play here when analyzing their wins which have been absent for a few too many games this year.
Better overall team play.
While I could sit here and continue to raise concerns with respect to the Leafs defense, I can’t help but comment on how much they seem to be improving. What I have specifically noticed is their ability to be supportive of their lines, rather than playing a selfish game per se. Of late, the team is seemingly moving up the ice as a unit, playing a stronger team/defensive system, and communicating. You can actually, for once in quite some time, hear the players effectively communicating on the ice. Who would have thought that this would be important to a team’s success? But I digress.
What has been equally important to the Leafs when they find success, has been the defensive play of their forwards as well. In addition to their PK’ing abilities last night(3/3), with players such as Tyler Bozak winning 56% of his draws taken and Kadri a surprising 63%, Toronto has received better defensive play from their forwards and conversely some better offensive play from their defenders.
In addition to playing a much simpler game in their own end, Toronto has finally started to receive scoring once again from their back end. It was not long ago that pundits were complaining about the lack of scoring from the defense. Well over their last nine games, they have scored nine goals and nearly 50% of points totaled.
I may be looking into this a little too much, but I continue to feel that acquisition of Tim Gleason did more than just provide extra experience and support on the backend. In fact, I feel as though his playing style and presence has allowed players like Phaneuf and Gardiner for instance to play to their own strengths. Logging nearly 19 minutes per game, Gleason has taken on a true shutdown role with Toronto, ultimately allowing guys like Phaneuf to focus on moving the puck more effectively which ultimately adds extra offensive weapon to their game.
It seems to me, as I’ve pointed out above, that the team is slowly working through their struggles and building upon their losses which has been somewhat absent from previous seasons. Where they have been struggling, they have been working and improving upon…though it also helps that they continue to receive superb goaltending, too.
Since writing my last few blogs, Toronto has actually reestablished themselves at the top of the league in hits(1st) and blocked shots(5th), though they still have a long ways to go in terms of their giveaways as they remain 30th in that respect.
If you recall, I wrote a blog not too long ago discussing how much of the entire team has changed over the past year or so and further, how inexperienced the team should still be considered. While the argument that “they are a young team… has slowly gone out the window, the fact of the matter remains that the team is still very raw, in a sense.
There are many new players in the dressing room (13) who were not a part of the team last season, and the coach is still somewhat new. For those who missed said write-up, here’s an excerpt –
New to the roster this year alone, the Leafs have added Tim Gleason, Dave Bolland, David Clarkson, Jared Smithson, Patrick Holland, Mason Raymond, Paul Ranger, Jon Bernier, and Trevor Smith. In addition to these acquisitions, Toronto also has rookie Morgan Rielly playing his first NHL season. Moreover, Toronto has a few players who are playing in just their second season with the team such as James van Riemsdyk, Jay McClement, and Frazer McClaren.
If you add up all the above mentioned players, Toronto has 13 players currently part of their roster who have very limited experience playing as a group. While the core of the team, if you will, have played together for a few years, adding all these players over the last season or so will certainly add to the challenge of icing a unanimous roster.
Moreover, the team’s GM has only been full reigns for one calendar year (just barely one full season worth of games), while Randy Carlyle has coached a total of 121 games in Toronto. Point is, this team is still piecing itself together and getting accustomed to each other. There have been a lot of changes over the past year or so, and it should stand to reason that they be given the chance to come to fruition. If a fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs has learnt anything over the years, it should be to remain patient. And on that note, I can’t help but mention Nazem Kadri again.
Since being acquired by the Leafs, Kadri has been a part of trade discussions just about every season and off season as well. Expected to be the team’s first line centerman who can score 80-90pts per season, Kadri has not lived up to the high expectations set upon him. That said, Nazem has shown flashes of absolute brilliance as demonstrated last night which keep people wishing for more. Where Kadri has struggled the most in his NHL career so far has been in terms of his consistency and defensive play.
That said, Randy Carlyle has been noticing the centerman’s improvement in both as he slowly earns more and more ice time and responsibility with the team. With two goals and over 18 minutes of ice time last night, Kadri has once again impressed Leafs fans; they just need not get too excited and allow the 23 year old to develop at his own pace.
“That is certainly not something I want to be remembered for, is when everyone hops all over me and then I start playing well,… Kadri said, acknowledging trade rumours and some criticism.“I know I can help this team win, it is just a matter of when.… – Toronto Sun
The Toronto Maple Leafs still have a lot of work to do in terms of their consistent play and growing as a team, but we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that they should still be considered a newer group given the number of changes of late.
It takes time to build chemistry as a team, and it also takes time for said team to fully learn and play to a system unanimously. And while fans can only hope that the above notion will be a quick and painless process, expect the team (and certain players) to stumble a few times before they really get going.
That’s all for this week folks, thanks for reading!