Leafs penalty kill fuelled by blocked shots

Maple Leafs defenceman Ron Hainsey seemed taken aback when asked if blocking shots — a key component to any NHL penalty kill — was a skill.

“If you count standing in the way between the shooter and the goalie a skill set, then I guess it is,” says the Leafs defenceman who leads the team in both blocked shots (135) and dry humour. “It’s more about where you’re positioned at this point.

“At least on the penalty kill, how it works, if the other team makes enough plays, there’s usually a defenceman standing close to the net, in between the shooter and the goalie and sometimes it hits them. It’s one of the great joys of how the game has developed over the past 10 years.”

Does it hurt? Doesn’t matter, says Hainsey.

“They tell me where to stand and I stand there. If it hits me, that’s where it’s at.”

Hainsey is a workhorse on the Leafs blue line, and one of the reasons Toronto’s penalty kill is so successful this season. Hainsey has played almost 272 short-handed minutes — tops in the NHL — averaging 4:03 a game. He often plays the full two minutes and is second on the team in blocked shots during the penalty kill with 31.

“Staying out of the penalty box is a big key, but when you do have to go out there (to kill a penalty), the better off you do not letting them get off a shot, the better off you are,” said Hainsey.

Heading into Wednesday night’s game against Dallas, the Leafs penalty kill had allowed only 34 goals in 196 times short-handed. That’s a kill rate of 82.7 per cent in the league, sixth best.

It was perfect against Pittsburgh after a rare hiccup — three goals allowed on four chances against Buffalo and Washington. Assistant coach D.J. Smith has earned praise for his work with the penalty killers, but the credit is widely shared.

“D.J. does a good job with it,” said Leafs coach Mike Babcock. “We have real committed people up front and on the back end who do a good job. In Hainsey, in (Nikita Zaitsev), in (Roman Polak), you have as good penalty killers as you can have on the back end, for sure.

“The other guys support it, but they’re the main guys. Up front, (Zach) Hyman and Leo (Komarov), they’re unbelievable, (Connor) Brown, now we’ve got (Kasperi) Kapanen who has done a real nice job for us there. We’ve got guys that can do it. Good penalty killers. We’ve got a good scheme and get prepared. Oh, and Freddie (Andersen).”

Blocking shots just comes with the territory.

“It’s not a fun part of the job, but there’s a kind of gratification to it,” said Brown, fourth among Leafs forwards with 27 blocked shots.

Stickwork, positioning, preparation and anticipation also help the penalty killers, said Brown. Komarov, third on the team in terms of short-handed time on ice at 179 minutes, says there’s a consistency with the same players trusted all year long.

“We got the same guys doing the same thing,” said Komarov. “We watch a lot of video. But at the same time, Freddie (Andersen) or Big Mac (Curtis McElhinney) save us a lot. It’s not just about the defence or forwards. It’s the goalies.

Komarov is second among Leafs forwards with nine blocked shots on the penalty kill and 46 blocked shots overall (ninth on the team).

“Nowadays you have to block it. You don’t really have any option,” said Komarov.

“If it doesn’t hit you, you hope it doesn’t hit the net. Sometimes it hits you bad and you think maybe you shouldn’t have done it. But usually the boys get fired up because of it.”