Our abysmal PP and mediocre PK is a cause for concern for the playoffs

[MapleLeafs9]

In the 2nd half of the season, the Leafs have the worst special teams of all playoff teams. In their last 26* games, the Leafs have a 6.2% powerplay, well below ANY of the other 15 teams that clinched (next closest is the Predators at 14.9%), and a 78.3% penalty kill, which is also last but not that far off from a few other teams.

Special teams are insanely important for any team looking to make a run and almost always the cup winning team is in the top 8 for both PP and PK percentages during the playoffs. I still have a lot of shitty memories of our special teams coming up insanely anti-clutch in the playoffs vs Boston in 2018 and 2019, and it would be insanely crushing to see this shit happen again.

If we have another early exit and our special teams continued to be horrid I want Malhotra and Hakstol gone immediately.

*26 games because they got 2 games left and 28 is the halfway point

Click to read more...

 

[egd27]

If we have another early exit and our special teams continued to be horrid I want Malhotra and Hakstol gone immediately.

I'll let Kyle know next time I'm speaking with him

 

[Azail]

I am equally worried about our special teams.

Really they have been the thing that has killed us in the Matthews/Marner era during the playoffs.

 

[ShaneFalco]

It can't last and I'm thinking the intensity of the playoffs will help
Those stats mean nothing once the playoff puck drops

 

[Zybalto]

PK has been fine this year provided Campbell is the starter.

8th fewest shots against, 7th lowest xGA and 5th for fewest high danger chances allowed on the year but Campbell in net makes the difference.


If you judged us just on Campbell, we'd be 2nd best in the NHL so lucky for us he's starting.

PP is a different animal as the Leafs just stopped scoring on the their chances while dominating even strength shooting.

They still lead the NHL for xGF and high danger chance creation on the PP this year. Gotta stop hitting hitting posts/missing the net (other categories they are at the top in)

 

[Sypher04]

I'm not overly concerned about our penalty kill.
Last 10 games it's been operating at 87% and that's with a good number of games missing some or all of Hyman, Foligno and Nash who are well above average defensive forwards.

The powerplay however continues to be utterly perplexing.

 

[moon111]

There's three players with more power-play goals than Adam Brooks on the team that aren't named Matthews and Tavares.
The Leafs need options. You can't simply play around with the puck until Matthews becomes open.
Marner, Rielly, and Nylander combine for five power-play goals... with Nylander having 4 of them.
You need to be able to put the puck in the net yourself sometimes or you're making it very easy for opponent teams
to hone in and stop you.

 

[mix1home]

Pp struggles is just a plot to lull refs to give us more pp time. And then Boom... (I hope so)

 

[The Blueprint]

The PP is mind boggling honestly... Too much talent to be this bad. I think it's all between the ears with this team. The drastic winning and losing streaks, bi polar play period to period, the PP.

...but they keep winning. I think the playoffs are a new start....and I'm not concerned.

Let's go babyyyyyyyyy

 

[Not My Tempo]

One of my friends brought up a good point to me yesterday. When the Leafs had their 2 min 5v3 against the Habs a couple games ago, it looked like they had no plan. They were aimlessly passing the puck just hoping for an opening.

 

[Fogelhund]

At some point, we need the PP to be better than it has, if we hope to compete for the Cup.

 

[Not My Tempo]

There's three players with more power-play goals than Adam Brooks on the team that aren't named Matthews and Tavares.
The Leafs need options. You can't simply play around with the puck until Matthews becomes open.
Marner, Rielly, and Nylander combine for five power-play goals... with Nylander having 4 of them.
You need to be able to put the puck in the net yourself sometimes or you're making it very easy for opponent teams
to hone in and stop you.

We saw this exact thing in the first Bruins series. They just put Chara on JVR, had the other 3 defenders collapse on Kadri and more or less just said “Okay Marner, we’ll let you shoot”

 

[justashadowof]

6 PP goals for and 4 PP goals against in 10 games against Montreal this season.
9 PP goals for and 4 PP goals against in 9 games against Edmonton this season.
3 PP goals for and 6 PP goals against (1 EN) in 9 games against Winnipeg this season. Leafs also had 2 SH goals in this matchup so the goal deferential was nearly even.

 

[Magic Man]

I think using Sandin on PP #2 and shifting Tavares to unit #2 could help the PP. I've liked the way Sandin moves the puck at the blueline better than someone like Brodie or Muzzin. The first unit has enough firepower with the other stars to move one to unit #2 to create balance and an option if unit #1 isn't going. I think Hyman should be on the top unit, he is a better offensive player now and he creates a net front presence.

PP #1
Hyman - Matthews - Nylander
Rielly - Marner

PP #2
Foligno - Tavares - Galchenyuk/Thornton
Sandin - Spezza

I'm interested to see what a PK with Foligno and Riley Nash up front looks like. Both come from good defensive minded teams and are known specifically for their defensive work. Maybe they help clean up the PK.

Hyman - Marner
Muzzin - Holl

Nash/Kerfoot - Foligno/Mikheyev
Brodie - Bogosian