The Toronto Maple Leafs have been near the top of the National Hockey League in goals scored for most of the season, which, along with the goaltending of Frederik Andersen, has the club sitting comfortably in second spot of the Atlantic Division. However, an emphasis on playing more responsibly on the defensive end during a road-heavy December schedule has seen the Leafs offense grind to a halt, resulting in sub-.500 hockey, including three straight losses in Philadelphia, Minnesota and Detroit this week.
Toronto’s troubles are in part due to the absence of Auston Matthews (who suffered a suspected concussion in a 4-3 win over the Penguins last Saturday), but also pre-dates the loss of the team's leading scorer.
The Leafs led the NHL with 97 goals entering December, but as head coach Mike Babcock began stressing a more two-way style, their scoring at even strength and with the man advantage evaporated. Other than the victory in Pittsburgh, Toronto is averaging just one goal per game over the entire month (30th in the NHL), and the power play, which was fourth in the NHL (23.75 percent) through November, has gone 1-for-17 in December.
MORE: Leafs continue to struggle without Matthews, fall to lowly Red Wings
“I think everyone has kind of tightened up defensively and (are) playing a hard defensive game. We're missing a pretty important player that generates a lot of offense for us and obviously with him being out, that doesn't help,” veteran Tyler Bozak said after a 3-1 loss to Detroit on Friday. “That's no excuse, we've won games when he has been out and it just has been a tough stretch these last few games. We played all tough teams on the road. We've got to get back on track here.”
Without Matthews available last month, the Leafs won four straight games with veterans Bozak, Nazem Kadri, James van Riemsdyk and Patrick Marleau picking up the slack. That has not been the case during the center’s second trip to the injury list. Sophomores William Nylander and Mitch Marner have also not shown any sign of elevating their game.
Nylander has just one assist in his last seven games, while Marner has four assists in the last 11 games and only two goals this season.
Toronto received a spectacular 41-save shutout performance from Curtis McElhinney but were severely outplayed in a 1-0 win over Edmonton last Sunday, but failed to earn a point against the Flyers on Tuesday, as Sean Couturier broke a 2-2 tie with 2:55 left in regulation. The Leafs were unable to beat Wild backup Alex Stalock in a 2-0 Minnesota win on Thursday, and after taking an early lead in Detroit on an Andreas Borgman goal the Leafs were passive and allowed the Wings to take over the game in a 3-1 loss to the Red Wings on Friday.
Hockey Time Machine: Tales from the NHL's first season 100 years ago
Babcock seemed generally pleased with his club’s effort on the three-game road trip in spite of earning no points, and believes that if the team continues to work hard the wins will come.
“If you work hard, everything turns your way. If you don't, it takes longer to get back to what you want to be. The league is a good league, it's a challenge for everybody and you've just got to believe in yourself and keep on grinding,” Babcock said. “I think our team comes to play most every night. Even on this trip, every game has been a real hockey game. In saying that, the other teams are trying too, it is the National Hockey League and I don't think it's going to be easy.”
Things do not get easier for the Leafs. They have three days off until their next game (a rare weekday afternoon game on Tuesday against Carolina to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Toronto franchise) and finish the month with five straight on the road against Columbus, New York, Arizona, Colorado and Vegas.