As the Toronto Maple Leafs approach the season’s conclusion, several key questions arise, each with significant implications for the team’s performance and postseason prospects. In this post, I’ll dive into three unanswered questions as the regular season winds down.
The first question centers around how head coach Sheldon Keefe will organize his team’s lineup for the remaining games. With seven games left in the regular season, Keefe will work to fine-tune his line combinations and defensive pairings. Who will see increased ice time, and how will Keefe balance the need for rest and preparation with the desire to maintain momentum heading into the playoffs?
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The second question pertains to the penalty kill. Since the arrival of Connor Dewar, the Maple Leafs’ penalty kill (PK) has shown significant improvement. Can this positive trend continue, and will Keefe maintain his current strategy? Additionally, with Mitch Marner’s return, can the power play regain its effectiveness and capitalize on scoring opportunities? Given the team’s success without Marner on the PK, is there a chance he will see more ice time at five-on-five instead?
Finally, the third question looms larger for franchise history than for the postseason. Yet, watching how the team (and Auston Matthews) approaches the quest will be fun. Can he reach seventy goals in a single season? With seven games remaining and seven goals needed to achieve this milestone, Matthews is tantalizingly close to making history. After netting his 63rd goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday, seeing if Matthews can maintain his scoring pace and write his name into the record books will be fun to watch.
These three questions carry some intriguing possibilities as the Maple Leafs conclude the regular season.
Question One: How Will Sheldon Keefe Organize the Team’s Lineup?
As the Maple Leafs gear up for the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Keefe faces an enviable dilemma. This season, his roster has an abundance of depth. Despite some injury setbacks to key players, the team’s bench and emerging young players have provided Keefe with a wealth of options to construct a winning lineup.
This season has showcased the internal competition within the team’s ranks. It’s the first time in several seasons that so many young players have risen to more prominent roles on the team. While injuries have posed temporary challenges, they’ve also highlighted the team’s depth and offered opportunities for emerging youngsters to shine.
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Marner’s return will strengthen the team. Utility forward Calle Jarnkrok and physical defenseman Joel Edmundson will also return. With these additions, Keefe will benefit from multiple skilled and experienced players vying for more ice time.
In addition to established veterans, a cadre of promising young players—such as Nick Robertson, Connor Dewar, Pontus Holmberg, Bobby McMann, and Matthew Knies—stand ready to add to the team’s success. The competition is equally fierce on the defensive front, with players like Mark Giordano, Conor Timmins, and Simon Benoit seeking postseason ice time.
Ilya Samsonov and Joseph Woll will compete for the crease. Despite Woll’s recent hiccups, both goalies offer Keefe a strong option in net. Samsonov’s recent standout games have bolstered his case for the starting position, while Woll’s typically consistent play gives the team depth and stability in the net. Not to forget Martin Jones, who offers a veteran presence just in case.
As the regular season winds down and playoff aspirations come into focus, Keefe will embrace the many options at his disposal. With depth comes versatility, resilience, and the ability to adapt to any challenge. Might that become a winning formula for postseason success?
Question Two: Can the Team’s Penalty Kill Continue Its Success?
Since the addition of Connor Dewar and youngsters Bobby McMann and Pontus Holmberg to the penalty kill unit, the Maple Leafs have experienced a significant improvement in their performance. The penalty kill has become a focal point of the team’s success, particularly in recent games when the team has begun to demonstrate consistent effectiveness.
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This newfound strength on the penalty kill is crucial for Keefe as he considers his lineup choices for Game 1. Last year’s playoffs exposed the Maple Leafs’ struggles on the penalty kill, with a dismal 73% success rate — a troubling trend that extended back to the Mike Babcock era. A robust penalty kill will be essential for the team to compete against strong opponents like the Boston Bruins or Florida Panthers. Both teams boast top-10 power-play efficiency rankings this season.
As the postseason approaches, the Maple Leafs’ ability to maintain their solid penalty kill performance will be pivotal in the quest for playoff success. Can the team’s collective effort to shore up this aspect of their game carry over into the playoffs?
Item Three: Can Auston Matthews Hit the 70-Goal Mark?
For those who know probability game theory, the number seven plays a central role due to its significance in probability distributions. For instance, in a standard six-sided die, the probability of rolling a seven with two dice is 1/6, making it one of the most common outcomes when rolling two dice. What, then, is the probability that Matthews can roll a seven over the last seven games of the regular season?
Matthews is nearing the impressive milestone of scoring 70 goals in a single season. With seven games remaining and just seven goals shy of the 70-goal mark, his recent performance suggests he has a real chance of achieving this historic feat. In his latest game against the Lightning, he netted his 63rd goal of the season with a powerful one-timer on the power play.
Matthews’ scoring streak, with eight goals in his last eight games, is far from surprising. He’s shown his ability to maintain a high level of performance and capitalize on scoring opportunities all season. With his exceptional skill set and determination, he could make history and become the first NHL player in over three decades to reach the 70-goal milestone.
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Don’t you also wonder if Marner knows this and would love to be part of the quest? You have to know he’s chomping at the bit to show how much the team has missed him. Merging these two attitudes might push Matthews over the top.
As the Maple Leafs enter the season’s final stretch, Matthews continues his pursuit of a remarkable achievement. If he maintains his current pace, there’s reason to believe that he might write his name into the annals of hockey history. With seven games left in the regular season, some questions remain. We look at the important ones.
