The Toronto Maple Leafs already have an improved penalty kill from last season that kept them in Game 1 and helped them win Game 2. They have the new guys to thank.
The Toronto Maple Leafs were undisciplined on Thursday, but the new guys came to the rescue.
Toronto earned its first win of the season Thursday, beating the New Jersey Devils 4-2 after Wednesday's 1-0 loss to the Montreal Canadiens. Although the Maple Leafs gave the Devils five power plays, three new players got a ton of penalty-killing responsibility from coach Craig Berube.
Because of their performance through two games, Toronto’s penalty kill has already improved from the group that finished 23rd in the NHL at 76.9 percent last season.
First-year Leafs defenseman Chris Tanev played 6:22 of penalty-kill time, which led the squad. New left winger Steven Lorentz played the most PK time among Leafs forwards at 4:09. Even new blueliner Oliver Ekman-Larsson played 1:55 of penalty-kill minutes, which was 10th on the team.
Tanev, in particular, came exactly as advertised, being a no-fuss, no-muss D-man whose panic threshold was sky-high. And the Leafs' best defender of the game was goalie Dennis Hildeby, who, in his NHL debut, turned aside 22 of 24 Devils shots, many of them from point-blank range.
The Leafs tied for the worst PK of any NHL team that made the playoffs last season, and they were 13th of 16 teams in that department in the post-season. But now, after their first two games, they’ve killed off eight of 10 opponents' power plays – a rate that still has room to improve but is encouraging for the games to come.
New Jersey did pressure the Buds for stretches Thursday, but with Hildeby calm, composed and confident between the pipes, the Devils couldn’t get much past him. And when you contrast Hildeby’s excellent night with Devils starter Jacob Markstrom’s shaky performance, you appreciate Hildeby’s effort even more as the team's third-string netminder.
If the Leafs become better at avoiding penalties this season, their offense – which showed its depth, balance and skill Thursday – will do what it’s asked to do and provide three to four goals per night. But if their defense and special teams continue to improve, they’re going to have a chance to win night in and night out, no matter how powerful their opponent may be on offense.
It’s still early, of course, but Toronto’s play in their own zone already looks better than that of the helter-skelter group that had a hard time preventing any team from scoring on them last season. The additions GM Brad Treliving has made, as well as Berube's coaching, are quickly paying dividends for the Leafs. Let's see if they manage the potholes well.
Get the latest news and trending stories right to your inbox by subscribing to The Hockey News newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or by visiting our forum.