Things are quiet in Leafs land when the team is rolling and they are rolling right now. With a record of 7-2-1 to start the season and coming off a road trip in which they collected 7 of a possible 8 points, the Leafs sit second in the North Division, and are tied for 4th overall in the NHL.
Mitch Marner is in the top 10 in the NHL in league scoring and the teams top 5 (the 4 forwards and Morgan Rielly) are all producing solid offensive numbers. The teams top 6 defenders are playing well, their depth forwards are playing safe/effective hockey, and Frederik Andersen is….. well, he did have a couple of good games but he could be better, lets just say that. He’s registering wins though, so that’s a positive.
The only issue I have at the current moment has to do with the teams 4th line. It’s small, but I feel like we saw a great 4th line and it was snatched away from us. The funny thing is Coach Keefe feels the same way:
Call me crazy if you will, because I know I’m just chock full of wild and insane ideas, but why not just dress this line again to see if they can keep it going? Why trot out a different line, over and over, to see what works if you’ve already found the standard that all other combinations will be held to?
Either way, it’s the 4th line, they’ll figure it out eventually, but for now they’ll keep experimenting, this time with Nic Petan suiting up for his first game of the season:
It’s good to see Dermott get back into the lineup and it will be fun to watch Simmonds with more minutes. He could be a good addition to that line, as he brings different elements to his game, such as grit and net drive.
Enjoy the game.
GO LEAFS GO!!