The Maple Leafs have been treading water and were 7-1-0 in their previous eight games before 5-1 loss against the defending Stanley Cup champions.
The Maple Leafs have been treading water and were 7-1-0 in their previous eight games before 5-1 loss against the defending Stanley Cup champions.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The Toronto Maple Leafs had been grinding out victories despite a slew of injuries at the forward position. However, after a 5-1 loss to the Florida Panthers on Wednesday, it became painfully evident that the team needs some reinforcements.
Playing their ninth consecutive game without star forward Auston Matthews, the Leafs have managed just nine 5-on-5 goals over that stretch. Mitch Marner shared his thoughts on what the team could do to improve offensively.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnMZclQLFvU[/embed]
"I mean, we're missing half our team up front, man. You know, it's tough," Marner said with a hint of frustration. "We got a lot of guys coming in trying to jump up in some roles. They've done a great job. I think we've done a great job keeping pucks out every night at five-on-five. But tonight, like I said, we've got to be up the ice more. We've got to be up in the forecheck more. We've got to get around the net more, tip some more pucks for our D. I thought they did a good job getting pucks through. We just weren't there enough."
On Wednesday, defenseman Morgan Rielly led the Leafs with four shots on goal, but the team struggled to create second and third-chance opportunities around the net.
"I think that we can do a better job of getting to the net front and creating more opportunities around the net and scoring some greasy goals around the net," head coach Craig Berube said postgame. "I don't think that we're hard enough around the net. I don't think that we're working hard enough to get to the net."
The Leafs rarely had any slot chances at 5-on-5 as shown by the following graph.
In addition to Matthews, who has now missed nine games with an upper-body injury, the Leafs are also without Matthew Knies (upper-body), Max Domi (lower-body), Max Pacioretty (lower-body), and David Kampf (lower-body). Ryan Reaves remains sidelined, serving a five-game suspension for an illegal check to the head of Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse. Adding to their woes, Bobby McMann is now dealing with a lower-body injury that the team will evaluate on Thursday.
Matthews and Knies are traveling with the team, and based on Berube's comments, their return seems likely when the Leafs face the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday.
"It's frustrating, but hopefully we get some guys coming back here next game," Berube said.
In the meantime, players like Nikita Grebenkin, Alex Nylander, Fraser Minten, and Alex Steeves have been thrust into bigger roles than expected this season. While this experience could benefit those players in the long term, the sheer number of injuries is becoming a significant strain.
When McMann was injured, the Leafs moved Grebenkin to the top line. They even swapped him onto the first power play in place of Alex, who like a lot of his teammates, struggled against the Panthers.
The Leafs are 7-2-0 in their past nine games and have done a remarkable job weathering the storm. However, Wednesday's loss to the Panthers revealed a team that appears to be running out of time to wait for reinforcements.
A healthy Matthews is critical. A Knies return would also be a major boost. Fortunately, help seems to be on the horizon.