Young guns give Toronto hope
Wins should follow as Maple Leafs create offence and get shots on net
The Toronto Maple Leafs have yet to blast through the wall of contenders for a playoff spot, but it’s not for lack of guns and ammunition.
After their young spitfire offence pumped 40 shots at the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday, Toronto moved up to third in the NHL in shots per game at 32.6. The only teams better as of Sunday morning were Sidney Crosby’s Pittsburgh Penguins and the Boston Bruins.
While they’ve won only three times when out-shooting foes and a winning streak or points streak of more than three still eludes them, the odds of that constant puck barrage paying off with more points before April are with them. Six Leafs had four or more shots on net against the Canucks, while 20 more shots missed the target.
“For sure, we just have to make sure we’re getting in front of all these goalies,” said Mitch Marner, one of seven Leaf rookies who’ve produced 83 points in 24 games to date. “All of them are so good (Ryan Miller made 38 saves Saturday), so we have to make sure we’re around the net at all times. We have a lot of rebound chances that we have to start bearing down on.”
Marner is already getting a reputation for making something out of nothing when he crosses the blueline and shakes his pursuers, while Auston Matthews, who is tied for the team lead with 11 goals, is centring an all-freshmen line with Zach Hyman, Connor Brown and sometimes William Nylander.
Hyman is particularly adept at hunting down pucks in the corners and behind the net, then finding big Matthews in optimum shooting areas. Saturday’s tying goal before the shootout loss was a prime example, Hyman corralling Martin Marincin’s wide point drive and saucering it in front through two Canucks to an open Matthews.
“Throughout the season, we’ve talked and worked on stuff about getting into position to get myself or Zach the puck, or get it to Brownie or Willy,” Matthews said. “We’ve definitely gelled a lot recently, just because (Hyman) is finding those soft spots for myself and other guys.”
Marner’s creative moves have also paid off for veteran linemates James van Riemsdyk and Tyler Bozak. Coach Mike Babcock was ruminating the other day whether the older Leafs were helping accelerate Marner’s NHL timeline or if the kid had re-energized them. But van Riemsdyk, who also reached 11 goals on Saturday, shares his boss’s concern that the Leafs have to clear up their defensive miscues instead of going all out on offence.
“We’re definitely doing a good job of creating, it’s just some of these little mistakes are ending up in the back of our net. But we’re doing a lot of good things. On the road, we were able to battle back (Saturday) from a two-goal deficit. We wound up with three points out of six on the trip, not bad, but when you get behind the eight ball in Calgary (two goals on two shots to start), it just shows you have to be ready from the start.
“(Saturday) was a real fun game to play in; fast, a lot of chances, We deserved a better fate.”
It was noted that much of the Leafs’ 3-on-3 overtime combinations against the Canucks included Matthews, van Riemsdyk, Marner and Morgan Rielly, in other words, first, second, fourth and fifth overall picks in their draft years.
“Depth is one of our strengths,” van Riemsdyk said. “We rely on different guys to chip in, especially offensively. We’re going to need that if we want to keep climbing in the standings.”
The yield from the Western swing, which started with a win against Connor McDavid and the Oilers, is not enough for a playoff pace, but does keep things interesting for the time being. If Toronto can turn its shot count into points and take advantage of six games at home between now and Dec. 19, a wildcard spot is still a possibility.
“Tonight, you play well like this and you get on with it,” said Babcock. “They scored two, we stayed the course and found a way to battle back. We had lots of open nets, we just didn’t shoot ’em in and that’s life. We had the puck a lot and as you could see, we have a lot of good, young players who are really on the (rise). They’ll get better with time.”