A couple of lumps of coal shouldn’t diminish what has been a solid few months for the Maple Leafs.
The Leafs weren’t pleased with themselves after losing 5-2 against the Winnipeg Jets at Scotiabank Arena on Monday afternoon, a result that followed a three-goal loss against the visiting New York Islanders on Saturday.
It’s a Leafs team, as a whole, that has taken good steps defensively in Craig Berube’s first season behind the bench.
And lately, there has been an uptick in goals scored at five-on-five.
When the Leafs return from their three-day Christmas break, starting with a back-to-back set (in Detroit on Friday and at home to Washington on Saturday), they have to endeavour to find consistency in that area.
“You’re always trying to improve your defensive numbers and you’re always trying to create more offence without making the big sacrifice on the other end of things,” defenceman Morgan Rielly said. “In general, we can always create more offence. As a D corps, you want to be involved in that and I think we can do a better job of that. We’re always striving to improve in that area.”
Against the Jets, execution was an issue. In all situations, Toronto had 70 attempts and held Winnipeg to 42.
Shots on goal were 27-25 for the visitors. The Leafs missed the net 23 times and 22 of their shots were blocked.
“We had lot of Grade As we’re missing the net on,” Mitch Marner said. “Can’t take those for granted. We have to make sure we’re using them to our advantage.”
Of course, it doesn’t help when captain Auston Matthews is not in the lineup, even if he has not been playing to his full capability.
At Christmas, the Leafs find themselves in second place in the Atlantic Division, familiar territory during the Sheldon Keefe years.
It’s how they have arrived in that spot, with improvements on the defensive side, that should be encouraging.
“I think the team overall has played some really good hockey and done a lot of good things, made a lot of strides in the right direction and we will again,” Berube said. “These last two games, we’ve slipped.”
THOUGHTS ON MATTHEWS
If the Leafs have to shut down Matthews for a period that goes beyond the past two games he has missed, so be it.
Behind the scenes, you can bet the Leafs are doing — and have been doing — all that’s possible to get on the right side of Matthews’ upper-body injury. That we’re heading into Christmas and there is no definitive solution regarding Matthews’ injury has to be concerning to all, none more than the player himself.
Though Berube couldn’t say for sure whether Matthews will play in Detroit against the Red Wings on Friday, it’s hard to see how Matthews would do so.
The three-day Christmas break dictates that teams don’t practise, so the group won’t be together again on the ice until the morning skate in Detroit. A player’s return to the lineup without a practice beforehand is rare, and it would make little sense for the Leafs to put Matthews into game action without having had some proper on-ice preparation time. That goes for no practice before they play at home against Washington on Saturday as well.
Not to suggest that they have been, but the Leafs can’t play around with Matthews’ injury now.
GAME ON
The one-gameexperiment with David Kampf centring the top line came to an end. Kampf had a nice assist on a goal by William Nylander against the Islanders, but we’re talking about serious miscasting here with Kampf in the top six. A top line of John Tavares between Matthew Knies and Marner versus the Jets made more sense … If the intent of Max Domi was to spark his teammates when he started a fight with the Jets’ Alex Iafallo not long after Kyle Connor put the visitors up 2-0, it didn’t work. Domi was a little too eager to drop the gloves and got an extra two minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct … The good on the Leafs’ four-minute power play in the second period: Tavares scored his 200th goal with the Leafs. The bad: It was the only Toronto shot on goal during the double minor … With Chris Tanev nursing a lower-body injury and not in the lineup, the Leafs blocked a total of six shots. In three games this season, Tanev himself has had at least six blocks. In nine others, he has had at least four … Rielly on what awaits the Leafs when they resume play later this week: “Between the Christmas break and the 4 Nations (tournament) break, there are going to be some important games and then after that, you’re right in a dog fight to the end. We find ourselves in a position where we have to play some good hockey. We have at times, but I think we can clean up a lot if you look at the last six or seven games.” … The list of Leafs who still can play in all 82 games shrunk to five when Tanev couldn’t go. That group includes Rielly, Marner, Nylander, Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Steven Lorentz.
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