Last night's game against the Flames aside, the Toronto Maple Leafs have dominated the North Division in the NHL and have had very few off nights. The team's charge has been led by the dynamic duo of Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner as well as the overall solid play of the team defensively. The power play has also for the most part been the driving force of the team's offence, but I fully expect the team to start scoring more five on five. I am a firm believer of players being what they are at the end of a long season for any sport, so unless something unforeseen happens, the likes of Taveras and Nylander should conclude with their typical statistics.
Listening to the FAN 590 earlier this morning Sportsnet analyst Chris Johnson made a very good point about Taveres's game. He has played excellent defensively this year and has gone out of his way to contribute in that facet of his game. Not that he was a poor defensive player in the past, but he along with the likes of Matthews have put in that extra effort on the other side of the puck. He has led by example and his offensive numbers are not that far off from his career averages, as he is pretty close to a point a game pace.
Nylander on the other hand continues to be an enigma and he has taken several games off this year, but I still believe he gets a bad rep. Must be something about his blonde hair and his ho hum attitude during press conferences. The season is not even half done so I will pass my judgement on him later on during the year. His talent is unquestionable and there are times he is flying up and down the wing and creating plays. Defensively, he will never be an elite player, but as long as he is not a liability on the ice I am satisfied.
If worse comes to worse and he continues to struggle, he is a nice trade piece for whatever the team needs. Currently, I do not think there are any pressing areas of concern. Those doubting the team's depth are foolish since there has been scoring up and down the line up and we need to remember that Simmonds is hurt and he was providing goals on the power play. Spezza has also been very good with already a hat trick under his belt and he is one of the best face off guys in the league right now. However, the team's success is driven by the incredible play of Matthews and Marner. Both are in the top 5 in scoring and Matthews just had a sixteen game point streak snapped. Marner is playing up to the standard that he has set for himself, and Matthews has been on another level. He is so good right now that everyone expects his shots to go in from wherever on the ice and for the most part they have been. I am also impressed by his the overall speed he has shown all over the ice and the determination he has in getting the puck and then trying to do something with it. This new found drive pretty much means that his line no longer needs Hyman, who is one of the best puck retrievers in the league. Hyman's game has suffered because of this and he is playing all over the line up. That and injuries have forced Hyman to not put up the numbers that he is used to, but he is the type of player that is humble and will do whatever he can to help the team win. More importantly, he can contribute in any role for this team and he is also an invaluable penalty killer.
As good as the regular season has gone so far, this team as team's past will be judged by how well it does during the playoffs. No team in the North scares me to the point of a first round upset, but the likes of Winnipeg, Edmonton and Calgary have some talent that could give the Leafs trouble in a playoff match up. All this talk about the Habs winning the division is unwarranted. They have nowhere near the offensive depth as any of the good teams in the league do and if Price is not standing on his head, they lose. They have young pieces such as Suzuki, but no elite players whatsoever. Weber, although playing well is way past his prime and no one in this line up will pose a threat to anyone. Their team chemistry played out well in the bubble, but over a long season that kind of play has already proven to be unsustainable and their depth, Anderson and Toffoli aside does not compete with the elite teams in the league. Sorry Habs fans! The team that scares me the most in the North is the Jets because they have the most depth up front and a Vezina winning goalie. They have players that can play multiple roles such as Wheeler, Ehlers and Sheifele and adding Dubois makes them all that much better. The Oilers and Flames have some good depth up front, but when it comes to the entire team they continue to be lacking in some major areas. The Flames got a lot better in net with the addition of Markstrom, but their d lost Brodie and Giordano is another year older and slower. The Oilers have perhaps the two best players in the league up front, but what else? Not much. They are great and amazing and deserve all the accolades they receive but without a proven NHL goalie and no other elite players on their team, I do not see them contending in the playoffs. Talent wise the Leafs remain have been an upper echelon team in the past, but what is different this year is that they are not always relying on their skill to win games. The Leafs won a large portion of their early games by out defending their opponent and there were a wack of one goal wins. Only over the past couple of weeks as their opposition has gotten weaker have the Leafs started to pile up the goals. The marquee players on the team have bought into playing more defence and grinding out wins and the mistakes that have victimized the team in the past have been significantly limited. Only time will tell how far this team goes into the playoffs, but for the first time in a long while a deep run is expected and anything less than winning a couple of rounds in the playoffs will be a major disappointment.
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