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The Leafs have been outscored 8-1 on special teams this month, and that inefficiency proved the difference in Saturday's blown-lead loss to the Carolina Hurricanes Saturday. Their PK is averaging a goal against over the past seven games; their PP has cashed in just once over its past 22 opportunities.
We're
raising a flag of concern here because sloppy special teams have played a significant factor in Toronto's postseason failures.
Since the Auston Matthews–William Nylander–Marner era began in 2016-17, the Leafs' PK has operated at just 75.3 per cent in the playoffs. That's 26th of all 30 teams that have appeared in at least one series during that stretch.
Further, their much-lauded power play has dropped from a total of 24.3 per cent (third) in all regular seasons of the Matthews-Nylander-Marner era to 18.6 (15th) come playoff time.
Benny's back
Healthy scratched
in favour of Liljegren all three games since the trade deadline passed,
Simon Benoit will get back into action Tuesday at Wells Fargo Center.
Rugged defenceman
Ilya Lyubushkin missed Monday's practice due to illness and did not fly with the team to Philadelphia.
Benoit has been a pleasant surprise for the Leafs. He should be reenergized by his 12 days out of action and eager to build his case to be in the lineup come Game 83.
"I'd expect it to be a little bit better, quite honestly. He's stepped back from the lineup and watched, and that's motivating in and of itself. But also, the league is hard when you're playing all the time," Keefe said.
"When you come back into the lineup, you expect to have a little bit more."
One-Timers: A diplomatic Treliving said Monday that the Maple Leafs' crease remains an
open competition and that he's happy to be dressing two healthy, capable goalies. With Toronto facing two back-to-backs this week,
Ilya Samsonov and
Joseph Woll should get two starts apiece ... Calle Järnkrok (hand) was retroactively placed on long-term injured reserve; defenceman Conor Timmins (mononucleosis) was activated. The earliest Järnkrok can return is April 8 ... The third-seed Maple Leafs have only a 12 per cent chance of moving up the Atlantic standings and just a six per cent chance of falling to the wild card, according to SportsClubStats.com ...
Prized prospect Easton Cowan dialed his OHL point streak up to 34 games Sunday. That's a London Knights record.