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The Maple Leafs won’t finish atop NHL power play percentage if opposition spies carry out their sabotage.
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For the first time since power play and penalty killing stats were kept in the 1970s, the Leafs were looking good about six games ago, north of 30%. They since have found officials rather stingy with calling penalties, while four misses Monday in Washington dropped them to 0-for-12, and 29.2% for the season.
“Teams are really adjusting their penalty killing now and it’s on us to adapt,” coach Sheldon Keefe said. “We did make some adjustments coming in (Auston Matthews seemed to have a centrifuge role) but our guys didn’t look comfortable with those (managing few shot attempts).
“That’s a combination of us as coaches need to get them comfortable. And they need to adapt, because we’ve made it pretty clear around the league that our power play is dangerous and teams are taking note. I’d be certain teams are seeing us come up on the calendar and their coaches are getting to work probably two or three games ahead.
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“I’ve been in that position. You don’t want to look bad.”
No. 1 unit point man Morgan Rielly wouldn’t go as far to say the Leafs have become too predictable.
“It’s just a matter of what structure they’re using,” Rielly said Tuesday. “If they’re passive, if they’re aggressive, we have different formats for different pressures. It’s up to us to play with pace, move the puck around and create opportunities.
“These games down the stretch are very important. So, teams will do their homework on our power play, penalty kill, our forecheck, breakouts, everything. So we have to be willing to make changes and to execute.”
CAPTAIN IN COMMAND
John Tavares did not look like he bore the weight of a 13-game scoring slump on Tuesday, spry in practice, greeting staff and media in passing. The captain still had a massive role in two goals Monday, including his second assist on Rasmus Sandin’s winner where he was relentless on the puck. Despite the longest drought since his rookie year, Tavares has 10 helpers in those 13 contests.
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“He’s been a superstar in this league a long time and that doesn’t just happen,” Rielly said. “He has an amazing skills set. He’s able to go out and execute a bunch of little things that most guys aren’t able to do. He’s got great vision, made a great pass to (Justin Holl on Sandin’s goal) and he’s really able to control play with his strength and body.”
TAKE IT OUTSIDE
Rielly is the Leafs’ oldest surviving outdoor gamer, having played in the Big House at the University of Michigan on New Year’s Day 2014.
As the Heritage Classic approaches at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton on March 13 versus Buffalo, Rielly was asked about his seniority status, going back to Ann Arbor, Mich., in front of 104,591 fans.
“It was snowing, a beautiful atmosphere,” Rielly said. “It was Jan. 1, probably a little bit more romantic.
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“But it was kind of a disaster for me. My parents flew in that day (from British Columbia), they weren’t prepared for the weather, I didn’t know what was going on. They got there on time but they struggled. We’ll be more prepared and have fun with this one.
“It will be cool to do it in Hamilton, though the one in Toronto (an overtime win over Detroit in the 2017 Centennial Classic at BMO Field) was probably my favourite.”
LOOSE LEAFS
Stopping Alex Ovechkin on all four of his shots Monday was a good reason why Petr Mrazek will start again Wednesday against the Sabres … While Ovechkin was a minus-4, Matthews was a plus-2, for the moment making him just the 14th Leaf ever to be above plus-70. He’s one behind Zach Hyman, but not even halfway to Tim Horton’s club record of plus-151 … William Nylander, who spent part of his childhood in Washington when his father, Michael, was a Capital, acted as tour guide for first-time Swedish visitors Rasmus Sandin and Timothy Liljegren on the team’s off day Sunday.
lhornby@postmedia.com
Maple Leafs notes: It's a power play chess match - Toronto Sun
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