Toronto's last power play goal came in Toronto's 5-2 win over the Lightning on Oct. 21.
Toronto's last power play goal came in Toronto's 5-2 win over the Lightning on Oct. 21.
The Toronto Maple Leafs had several chances to reignite the power play on Saturday night against the St. Louis Blues, but again, it was the same old story.
Even in the third period when Toronto put their big guns back together, they couldn't find the back of the net, ultimately falling to the Blues 4-2 in what was head coach Craig Berube's return and Joseph Woll's homecoming game.
At the beginning of the season, the Maple Leafs tried to keep their best players on the top unit. That didn't work. Toronto also attempted to gain a spark by balancing the units out. That hasn't worked.
And now — 12 games into the NHL regular season — the Maple Leafs have the league's worst power play which sits at an underwhelming 7.9 percent. Even with going back to the top unit on Saturday, Toronto couldn't find any success.
So why isn't it clicking?
"That's a great question. I don't know. I mean, we're working on it nonstop. We're trying to figure things out. It's not like we're not," Mitch Marner, who has two goals and 11 assists through the first 12 games of the year, said on Saturday night.
"We just got to stay patient with it, keep it going, keep practicing, keep talking about what we can do better and find ways to be better. It will eventually click, so we can't get frustrated with one another. We've got to stay confident. We've got to know that we're doing the right things, and we will get results."
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The Maple Leafs have three goals on 38 opportunities this season. They're averaging over three power plays a game, and with not being able to score on those chances, Toronto is giving up valuable points.
If the top unit scored on the man advantage in the third period, Toronto and St. Louis would've gone to overtime, where the Maple Leafs would secure one or two points.
Their lack of power play success could hurt Toronto later in the season. The Maple Leafs need to solve the problems to remain at the top of what appears to be a tight Atlantic Division early.
"Well, for me, it's execution, to be honest with you. But the other thing is there's not a directness to it. Like, we're not getting pucks to the net enough," Berube said following Saturday's loss to the Blues.
"We're on the power play. We need to shoot pucks more. We need to get pucks to the net and create opportunities around the net on broken plays. But we're not. There's not a shot mentality on the power play right now for me, and it's execution."