Leafs prioritize tightening up defense vs. Devils (Jan 06, 2017)
Offense has not been an issue this season for the Toronto Maple Leafs, who boast three outstanding rookies that have helped the team average a little more than three goals per game.
The problem, however, has been preventing goals -- while they average the fourth-most goals per game (3.03), they're giving up 2.81 per contest, which leaves them in the bottom half of the league. Tightening defensively will once again be a priority when the Leafs visit the New Jersey Devils on Friday night.
"That's kind of been the case most of the season," said Leafs rookie Auston Matthews after his team blew a two-goal lead and lost to the Washington Capitals 6-5 in overtime on Tuesday. "We kind of get up and let our foot off the gas a little bit. It's kind of the same old story. We've got to clean it up. It's very unacceptable to go down that road."
The Leafs have lost nine games (five in regulation) when scoring first, which is tied for the third-most in the league. They also have the third-worst winning percentage when leading after two periods, a sign that despite having Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander enjoying great first seasons, there is still work to be done in Toronto.
"We weren't very good defensively; we didn't skate like we can and didn't play like we could," Leafs coach Mike Babcock said. "Getting a point on the road when you're not very good doesn't happen very often. I thought we were playing the same way the whole game -- not good enough, not competitive enough, didn't execute."
Even with that hiccup, the Leafs are trending in the right direction -- the loss to the Capitals snapped a five-game winning streak but they are 6-1-3 in their past 10 games. They will be tested by a Devils team that has won three of four and have won their past two games by a combined 6-1.
Goaltender Cory Schneider has struggled this season but he has stopped 51 of his past 52 shots. The Devils have been more committed to defense and will need to be strong in their own end if they are to combat the quick and talented Leafs.
"We're a very hard team to play against when we play a committed game and we were able to do that the last few nights and it's so important," Devils defenseman Ben Lovejoy said to the Bergen Record. "The last two nights, we've made some serious steps towards more consistency. (Schneider) is our superstar. He is our best player and we rely on him to be the best player. We expect him to do it every game going forward."
It may be difficult if the Devils are without Andy Greene, who suffered an injured hand against the Hurricanes on Wednesday night and considered "50-50" to play by coach John Hynes. Greene has played in 350 consecutive games and is the unquestioned No. 1 defenseman on the team. If he's out, the Devils may need to score four or five goals to win.
"He's a big, big part of the team and his consecutive games streak speaks for itself," defenseman Jon Merrill said to the Bergen Record. "If he is unable to go a lot of us have to step up because he plays a lot of minutes, on the penalty kill, power play, five-on-five."
"He's a huge loss if he's out," defenseman Kyle Quincey said to the Bergen Record. "All of us have to step up and fill the void."
