Toronto Maple Leafs

Maple Leafs Quick Hits: Learning Defensive Play & Dirty Goals

The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday night. What were three quick hits from the game?

by
Old Prof
February 9, 2022

In this edition of Toronto Maple Leafs’ Quick Hits, with the help of long-time Maple Leafs’ fan Stan Smith, I’ll take a look at three areas of the Maple Leafs’ game that emerged from the great 4-3 overtime victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday.

Quick Hit One: Learning to Play Solid Defense from Your Opponent

Although the Maple Leafs beat the Hurricanes by a score of 4-3 in overtime on Monday night, the Hurricanes are a tough team to play against. If the Maple Leafs want to study how to play defensive hockey, they need to go no further than to study what the Hurricanes do on the ice. Obviously, the Maple Leafs scored four goals to win Monday’s game; however, Carolina did an excellent job smothering much of the Maple Leafs’ offense.

One television commentator made an excellent point by noting that Carolina was playing man-to-man in the neutral zone; and, when a Maple Leafs’ player had the puck trying to exit their zone, that player was tightly covered. It’s true that Carolina was making it tough for the Maple Leafs to get good chances. However, it’s possible that the Maple Leafs could learn from that defensive tactic.

One reason the Maple Leafs would be able to mirror the Hurricanes’ defensive play is that the Hurricanes aren’t overly physical. Like the Maple Leafs, the Hurricanes don’t always choose to finish their checks. Instead, they work to either tie up their opponent or prevent the puck from getting to him. That’s a different way to play, but it fits the Maple Leafs’s style.

Quick Hit Two: Both Rasmus Sandin and Justin Holl Played Solid Games

Rasmus Sandin finished the game at minus-2 and Justin Holl at minus-1; however, both played solid games. Holl went on a look-around skate after losing sight of the puck in the rafters. As a result, he failed to cover Derek Stepan well and that allowed the Hurricanes’ go-ahead goal. However, Holl also led the defense in blocked shots with four and was credited with three hits.

Sandin’s hard work prevented Tony DeAngelo from having a wide-open net during the overtime period. He finished the night with three hits and three blocked shots. Sandin also played a ton of minutes. He logged the second most time on the ice, and had more minutes than either Brodie or Holl. Part of that disparity was probably because the Maple Leafs had four power plays and only one penalty kill.

However, the Maple Leafs’ statistics were interesting for ice time for the team’s defensemen. Morgan Rielly played 24:35 minutes, Sandin 22:30 minutes, T.J Brodie 21:24, Holl 20:54, Travis Dermott 14:24, and Liljegren 14:19 minutes. It wasn’t that Dermott and Liljegren had poor games; however, the situations limited their ice time.

Quick Hit Three: The Importance of Scoring Dirty Goals

One reason that Micheal Bunting has had such a successful start to his season with the Maple Leafs is because he scores dirty goals. Although he didn’t score last night, he still was mucking it up and creating havoc in the crease. That’s hugely important against a goalie like Frederik Andersen.

During the televised game, a graphic showed that Andersen had over a .900 save percentage from every zone on the ice with one exception. In the crease area, he saves only .333 (one-third) of the shots. The fact of the matter is that Andersen gave up dirty goals last night, but little else. In fact, only Auston Matthews’ one-timer on a great set play eluded his former teammate and now the Hurricanes’ goalie.

Frederik Andersen Carolina Hurricanes NHL free agency

Perhaps it was simply a coincidence, but the Maple Leafs scored three of their four goals from the crease. The Maple Leafs’ power-play (Matthews) goal and both of Mitch Marner’s goals came from the crease.