Which Maple Leafs Forward Lines And Defense Pairs Are Or Aren't Fulfilling Duties Defensively?

The Toronto Maple Leafs haven't been performing up to standard on the back end, and as a team defensively. They are one of the worst teams in the NHL when it comes to keeping the puck out of their net, conceding the joint-second-most goals with 50 as of Thursday.

Their struggles in their own zone are clear whether you look at the underlying numbers or just the eye test will tell the story, too. But are there select D-pairs or forward lines that are holding back the Maple Leafs? Or is this a team-wide or systemic issue for Toronto?

It should be stated that the loss of key players such as defenseman Chris Tanev, as well as forwards John Tavares and Kirill Marchenko, may be catching up with the team. Not to mention, a pair of extra defensemen to fill in for those injuries, Nick Blankenburg and Marshall Rifai, are also sidelined on IR.

That's led to all sorts of different changes to the way the team looks on the ice and the makeup of the line combinations. Some players have played together all season or close to it, while others may see new linemates or partners after every other outing.

One defense pairing that has been paired together for a handful of games now is Morgan Rielly and Troy Stecher. It wasn't the plan to put these two together, as Rielly was initially paired with Darren Raddysh before Tanev went down in game No. 6 of the season.

In an elevated role, Stecher's efforts have been commendable. Outside of Raddysh, Stecher has led the defense in ice time since Tanev went down, averaging 21:03 per game, and almost all of that time has been with Rielly.

They have been above average among NHL defense pairings to play at least 100 minutes together this season. Rielly and Stecher are producing 6.08 expected goals against, which ranks 21st in that category, per NaturalStatTrick. In relation to that expected goals against number, they have allowed six goals against in all situations, which is the same number of goals allowed as Devon Toews and Cale Makar, and Miro Heiskanen and Thomas Harley (tied for 26th in the league as of Thursday).

On both sides of the puck, Rielly-Stecher have been outchanced, and so have the Jake McCabe and Raddysh pair. In shots, scoring chances, and high-danger chances, Toronto's top two D-pairs have given up more chances and scoring opportunities than they've had themselves.

One area that stands out with the McCabe-Raddysh duo, they get the majority of the tough matchups, but spend more time in their own zone than they probably should. Raddysh leads the NHL in giveaways with 23, according to MoneyPuck. He and McCabe also have 15 defensive-zone giveaways each, which is tied for the fifth most in the league, with Stecher just behind them with 14, as of Thursday.

The Maple Leafs' most efficient defense pair to play 100 minutes has been Oliver Ekman-Larsson with Stecher, who have been separated with players going down. 

Those two have had a positive impact on Toronto, recording a 60.25 expected goals percentage, 60 scoring chances percentage, and a 58.14 high-danger chances percentage. Therefore, they were on the right side of the puck more often than not. That also applies to true goals, outscoring the opposition when they're on the ice, 7-4.

In terms of Toronto's forward lines contributing defensively, the fourth line of Brandon Duhaime, Teddy Blueger and Zack MacEwen has been the most impressive, far and away.

As of Thursday, that trio is tied for the second-lowest expected goals-against number in the NHL at 1.3 among lines that play at least 50 minutes together, per MoneyPuck. They've been able to keep the puck out of their own zone and constantly get to work on the forecheck.

The Leafs' former first line of Marchenko, Auston Matthews and Jack Roslovic also registered 1.3 expected goals against, but are also fifth in the NHL in expected goals percentage at 72.3 percent, as of Thursday.

Also, most line combinations that include veteran center Colton Sissons have great defensive numbers. He's seen many different linemates, including Gavin McKenna, Nick Paul, Easton Cowan and Vinni Lettieri, but despite never reaching 30 minutes with one combination, Toronto's top-three lines to play at least 20 minutes together in the expected goals against department all include Sissons.

Maple Leafs forward lines that may have lacked in supporting the defense typically include high-flying right winger William Nylander. To start the season, the team's second line was McKenna, Tavares and Nylander, and they didn't get off to a hot start, posting a 28.9 expected goals percentage after about 30 total minutes together, per MoneyPuck.

With slightly improved numbers, Nylander was also put with Matthews and Roslovic for a little while. The trio pushed to earn a 43.4 expected goals percentage, getting closer to breaking even.

It's far too early to tell how the current lines are doing. The last game, for instance, was Nylander's first crack with Paul and Cowan, which only gives about a 15-minute sample. The same can be said about McKenna, Matthews, and Roslovic. Those two lines only debuted against the Seattle Kraken on Wednesday, following Marchenko's injury against the Calgary Flames on Monday.

Among the Maple Leafs' forward lines that have played at least 20 minutes together, only one trio that Nylander has been a part of has a positive expected goals rate. That would be with Paul and Marchenko, performing at 54.1 percent with about 50 minutes played together.

See more of The Hockey News on Google — Save us as Preferred Source

For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.