Simply put, Toronto’s penalty kill has been money in the bank so far this season.
In short order, they’re catapulting themselves up the NHL rankings. Following a 6-for-6 outing in Tuesday night’s 4-0 victory over the rival Boston Bruins, the Leafs PK has now killed off 16 straight penalties. Furthermore, in 57 times short, they’ve allowed a grand total of eight power play goals, good for sixth in the entire league right now. They’re on fire.
Any way you slice it, that’s a good sign for a team that ranked in the bottom-10 in 203-24 in that category.
First and foremost, indisputably, a lot of it has to do with goaltending. Simply put, Anthony Stolarz, who’s the last line of defence, has had a downright incredible start to his Maple Leafs tenure. Seriously, there’s no telling where this team would be without their top goalie right now. He’s been fun to watch.
In addition to receiving solid production from their crease, the blue line is much improved, which theoretically should go a long way in boosting PK numbers. And so far, it has. Chris Tanev is a shot blocking machine and Oliver Ekman-Larsson has grossly outplayed his contract to-date. He’s playing more like a 2-3 guy and less like a 5-6 option, which is where he was pencilled in prior to the season. Additionally, don’t sleep on Jani Hakanpaa either. When healthy, that dude’s super effective on the PK, too.
Moral of the story: The Leafs are in good shape when it comes to killing penalties. That said, they have to find a way to stay out of the box. Next to Boston, who they just played, they’re the second most penalized team (57) in the entire league right now.
While Marc Savard has had his issues trying to figure out the struggling power play, the same can’t be said for Lane Lambert, who’s in charge of running the penalty kill. Personally, I thought it was interesting to hear Craig Berube talk about the former Islanders head coach in his post-game podium on Tuesday night. He disclosed that Barry Trotz, who he’s tight with and worked with Lambert on Long Island, promoted Lambert for the gig. He thought he would be a good fit, and so far, the Predators’ general manager was bang on. Lambert, who runs Toronto’s defence, should be commended for the job he’s done so far.
Through 14 outings, Toronto’s boasted a top-notch penalty kill, which is something they will need all season long if they hope to compete for a Stanley Cup.
