Three games into the 2023-24 regular season, it’s safe to say that the Toronto Maple Leafs offense has been firing on all cylinders. From Auston Matthews’ back-to-back hat tricks, to William Nylander’s strong play in a contract year, the stars have come to shine.
While that is a bright spot, the opposite could be said about their defensive play as that was going to be the biggest question mark coming into the season. So far, it’s come as advertised as it hasn’t been strong in the games they’ve played in. You shouldn’t jump to conclusions or write anyone off this early, but the Maple Leafs’ defensive play has been wildly inconsistent.
Teams go through rough stretches and mistakes happen, but the Maple Leafs have seen this plenty of times before where their play away from the puck isn’t up to standard and has cost them a game. The latest example being their 4-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks. In a year where they know they have the offense, they need to focus in on playing complete games on both sides of the puck. It hasn’t been there from the start.
Keefe Not Impressed with Defensive Play
Too many times last season– especially against opponents that might be lower in the standings– they have always come out flat footed or aren’t staying on top of things. That was once again the case against the Blackhawks and another instance of the Maple Leafs playing down to their opponent.
Needless to say, head coach Sheldon Keefe wasn’t impressed at all with how the Maple Leafs executed in their last game.“I thought we were really sloppy with the puck in the first period and then we got beat in transition in the second period,” Keefe said according to The Hockey News’ David Alter. “The turnover stuff, just careless with the puck and it’s all our best players. Really really careless to start the game.”
Keefe even added that, “We’ve seen this movie before,” in reference to the slow starts and not being prepared in a game where they’re expected to dominate. With the experience and amount of skill the Maple Leafs have, games like this are unacceptable. Especially for a team that wants to try and change the narrative from what we’ve seen in the past. They managed to put the pressure on in the third period, but it was too little too late.
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Games like this have a snowball effect for the Maple Leafs and it ended up costing them. Even when they managed to tie the game and gain some momentum, it was lost because of a poorly timed play or they let their guard down for a split second. That needs to change if they want to be competitive.
By the Numbers
There’s still time for the Maple Leafs to turn things around, but the early numbers show that they have a long way to go.
The Maple Leafs have allowed 13 goals against and have the third worst goals against per game average of 4.33. Digging a little deeper, they’re second with the most goals allowed at five-on-five with 10, behind only the Tampa Bay Lightning (13). They have surrendered nine goals off of scoring chances and have allowed seven high danger goals against. Clearly that’s an indication that the Maple Leafs need to tighten up defensively.
The most glaring issue has been the play of the pairing of Jake McCabe and John Klingberg. In theory that pairing should provide a great balance, with McCabe’s two-way play and Klingberg’s offensive game. However, the opposite effect is happening as they have struggled. Here’s a breakdown of their numbers at 5-on-5.
| CF% | GF% | xGF% | SCF% |
| 44.94 | 16.67 | 36.95 | 36.59 |
Clearly the pairing hasn’t worked out as Keefe even switched things up midgame against the Blackhawks. They’ve been on for five goals against and high danger goals against. You really don’t know what you’re getting with this pairing at this point. You would expect McCabe to play more a of a safe style, but he’s being just as aggressive with and without the puck as Klingberg trying to do too much. Klingberg was brought in for his offensive game and puck moving abilities, but the issues in his defensive game are evident, struggling with odd-man rushes and not reading the play well.
This isn’t solely on just this pairing. While they need to step it up, everyone needs to dig in try and turn the tides.
What Needs to Happen?
The Maple Leafs really need to just simplify their game and be more aware in regards to how the play is going to unfold. Keefe even said that before the game against the Blackhawks, the attention to detail in their defensive zone coverage has been an issue. They tend to over think things and try to make things difficult for themselves.
After their loss to the Blackhawks, captain John Tavares said that the ability to be responsible in all three zones was a problem. This is exactly the same song and dance when it comes to the Maple Leafs where they put themselves in these situations over and over again. The fact that they haven’t quite learned their lesson is concerning considering that everyone on this team has the experience and should know the high standard of play needs to be there.
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There have been plenty of breakdowns this season. There was the weak odd-man rush against the Montreal Canadiens leading to Alex Newhook’s easy tap-in goal. McCabe is deep in the offensive zone, leaving Klingberg alone to defend a three-on-one and the forward to quickly rush back. A poorly timed stick check allows Juraj Slafkovsky to make a pass and Newhook buries it.
Then there’s this goal against the Blackhawks on the powerplay. While McCabe may have overshot his positioning, Matthew Knies is late covering his man in Tyler Johnson. Johnson is able to walk in and make it 3-1. Which is why both forwards and defense need to be aware of their assignments and positioning.
It’s little details like this that was an issue for the Maple Leafs in their first two wins and ultimately cost them the loss to the Blackhawks. You don’t want to overreact this early, but given how the Maple Leafs have played like this in the past, you can’t help but feel otherwise. Their defensive awareness has been questionable and it’s something that needs to be addressed and fixed as soon as possible.
Statistics from Natural Stat Trick and NHL.