The Toronto Maple Leafs have become one of the most confounding teams this season.
On a night when Kirill Marchenko just happens to notch a hat trick, the team somehow manages to blow a 4-2 third-period lead and lost the game in overtime.
In other games, the Leafs have looked like a solid playoff team, dismantling elite clubs like the Colorado Avalanche on the road.
That’s why the mixed signals the Maple Leafs are sending have to concern the organization, while keeping fans on their toes.
Maple Leafs Offense Needs to Be More Than a Top-Line Show
The early signs have been encouraging.
Kirill Marchenko has come as advertised, while Auston Matthews and William Nylander have shown strong bounce-back games. Then there’s Easton Cowan, who has shown he can contribute despite his limited NHL experience. The bottom six has also produced goals, giving Toronto some relatively reliable depth scoring.
But the New York Islanders demonstrated how quickly that production can dry up against a structured opponent. Toronto struggled to break through, and Ilya Sorokin stopped 28 shots to help New York secure the win. The Maple Leafs managed just one goal, from Colton Sissons, one of the depth guys that’s come through when needed.
That is where Toronto needs more consistency. The top players cannot be expected to manufacture offense every night, especially when opponents can focus their defensive attention on Matthews and Nylander. The depth scoring has been useful, but it must become a regular feature rather than an occasional bonus.
The biggest question right now is how the club will react to the loss of John Tavares for an extended period. If the Maple Leafs can weather Tavares’ absence, one other major injury may be easier to digest.
Chris Tanev’s Injury Has Left the Club’s Blue Line Exposed
The loss of Chris Tanev has been particularly devastating for an already pretty thin blue line.
The veteran defenseman is week-to-week with an upper-body injury, leaving Toronto without one of its most reliable defensive anchors. His absence has forced coach Jim Hiller to reshuffle pairings, and the results have hardly been convincing.
Darren Raddysh has been paired with Jake McCabe, a combination that asks Raddysh to handle responsibilities that may not suit his strengths. Raddysh can contribute offensively, but expecting him to compensate for Tanev’s defensive reliability is a different proposition for the Maple Leafs.
Morgan Rielly and Troy Stecher have also been a pair together. Rielly needs to drive more of the play from the back end, but the pairing has not provided a dependable answer to Toronto’s defensive problems.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Nick Blankenburg have largely held their own on the third pair. That is a positive, but it does not resolve the bigger issue: Toronto lacks the defensive stability to consistently shut down opponents when its offense stalls.
Sergei Bobrovsky Cannot Keep Saving Toronto
Sergei Bobrovsky has been good enough to give Toronto a chance in several games, even if his numbers have not been spectacular.
The two-time Stanley Cup winner made 29 saves against Buffalo and stopped 16 shots against the Islanders, though the latter performance was not enough to really give Toronto a chance to win.
The Maple Leafs need more than merely adequate goaltending, however. Bobrovsky will have to steal games when the defense breaks down, as he nearly did against Vegas and when he helped contain Colorado.
Unfortunately, expecting the 38-year-old netminder to steal game after game is just unsustainable for the entire season. And since outscoring opponents a la Edmonton Oilers is just not realistic, the Maple Leafs just have to play better.
Overall, the Leafs have enough talent to compete with anyone. So, it seems that the message here will be one that’s always been the case in Toronto: The Maple Leafs have to play consistently is they want to have any real chance at competing for a playoff spot this season.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
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