'Punchless Leafs' or Just Hot Goalies?

Only problem with this analysis is that it assumes that the goaltenders face the same type of shots against other opposition as they do with the Leafs.. for e.g the Leafs don’t have anybody causing havoc in front of the crease so the goalies have an easier time stopping the shots making for a higher save %.

Steve Burtch hits the nail on the head – the shots aren’t getting through. Yes Lundqvist made some big saves Saturday, but the amount of shots the Rangers blocked speaks more to the Leafs lack of determination in the getting the puck to the net than it does the defensive prowess and gutsy play of the Rangers. On a related note, there were huge stretches in the last 2 games where the Leafs were controlling play in the offensive end, but didn’t have guys going to the front of the net. This was especially evident on the PP. For a team struggling to score goals, the short term solution can’t get any simpler than that. This is an area where the lack of size in the top six is especially glaring.

Here’s a suggestion that I haven’t heard to many people making, but I think warants some discussion. Try Versteeg at centre. It was generally noted in the media when the Versteeg trade first broke that one of his greatest assets was his versatility and ability to play all 3 forward positions. He put up 20 goals and 44 points centering Chicago’s third line last season while maintaining stellar defensive numbers. Despite the fact he hasn’t had much offensive success in the first 10 games this season, it’s evident that at least he has some creativity to his game and is not a liability in his own end. Lets take this a step further; if Kadri can put up consistent numbers playing on the wing in the AHL for the next 10 or 15 games, bring him up and put him on a line centered by Versteeg – a guy who can cover his own end but still has offensive creativity enough to mesh with true goal scorers.

It’s possible that at some point this season Burke will pull the trigger on a deal that brings in a bonafide 1st line centre, but until that happens the Leafs don’t appear to have a tone of options. They brought in Versteeg to give them some flexibility up front and now would appear to be an excellent opportunity to take advantage of that.

Why is every goalie ‘hot’ just because they play Toronto? No, it’s our lack of offensive skill and guys willing to go to the net. But hey, we do have some pretty darn good perimeter players and did draft, uh, what was that guy we took in the first round?

The leafs just aren’t unlucky they are shooting poorly. When they have a shot in the low slot it isn’t luck that determines if it goes in or not. It is shot placement. I know that statistical evidence exists to prove that shot “quality” doesn’t effect the stats too much, but what did they do to prove this? Did, they take into account, where the shot was going relative to the goalie and the position on the ice. How fast the shot was, and if there was a screen in front of the goalie. A quality shot is all of those things. If you receive a pass into the low slot from the side and the goalie was playing the shot not the pass and you shoot straight into the middle of the net it is not a bad shot. However, if you are in the low slot and the goalie is straight a head putting it at the middle of the net is bad idea. Either pick the corners or just above the leg pads or the shoulder. That is if the goalie is butterfly as it is in todays world. However, too often I see the leafs fire it straight into the goalie. That is a bad shot, and it happens to be a large percentage of the shots they took during their shut outs. Though I do blame the ref for calling the play dead when Kessel had the puck and was about to put it in the open cage. I wonder why that didn’t get as much coverage as the Orr interference non-call. Phil getting a goal early in the game would have shut the crowd up, and got him and the team reved. Instead they all just started to hold their sticks too tight. Anyways, the leafs to need to aim better, and get traffic.