Craig Berube was not a fan of the formation over the last couple of games.
DETROIT — While the Toronto Maple Leafs have made improvements in several areas this season, their lack of offensive production remains puzzling.
Despite having stars like Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander, the team sits 22nd out of 32 in goals scores per game (2.93) as they prepared to face the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday.
One issue has been individual players, such as Matthews, not scoring at their usual pace. Additionally, the team’s power play, typically among the league's best, has struggled. Currently, Toronto ranks 20th with an 18.9 percent success rate.
Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube isn’t overly concerned, instead emphasizing the opportunities his team has created on the man-advantage.
"We look at a lot of other metrics too. We’ve had lots of opportunities," Berube said. "I don't know where we rank now but at one point we led the league in shooting puck in very good areas, creating Grade-As. We’ve gotta keep doing it.
"They don’t go in all the time, but we’ve got to stay with it and find a way to produce that way a little bit more. It’s not from a lack of getting looks. We are getting good looks and doing some things; we just haven’t scored."
Berube had been using a five-forward power play unit, with Mitch Marner positioned up high and Matthew Knies stationed at the net front. However, ahead of Saturday's game, Berube made adjustments, moving Knies to the second unit and reinstating Morgan Rielly to the first unit.
"I think just the five forwards worked for a bit. I thought it looked good at times, and then the last couple games have not liked it. So I switched it up," Berube explained.
Knies shed light on Toronto’s focus with the new setup.
"I think we’ve just been moving the puck on the outside a little too much and just haven’t had chances around the net," Knies said. "I think that’s just what we’re trying to focus on—getting it down there and creating loose pucks. Little things like that are going to help us have a little more success in that regard. I think that’s what we’re looking to do with these new units that we have."