Four key questions the Maple Leafs need to answer fast
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The Maple Leafs are going to be at home for a stretch.
What a concept.
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Four key questions the Maple Leafs need to answer fast Back to video
After playing 11 of their past 13 games on the road — a span that saw them go 9-3-1 — the Leafs will settle in at Scotiabank Arena for a four-game home stand starting on Thursday against the Florida Panthers.
It’s going to be Toronto’s longest stint at home since Nov. 5-12, when they won three of four games.
Nothing comes easy in the National Hockey League, and the next four games won’t be any different.
The Leafs are trying to catch and overtake the Panthers for first place in the Atlantic Division while simultaneously holding off the Tampa Bay Lightning. The match on Thursday, which is the Leafs’ annual women’s celebration game, is the first of three that the Leafs have remaining against Florida. The result of each one, pardon the hyperbole, will be huge in the standings.
Saturday brings the Ottawa Senators, who lick their chops whenever the Leafs are on the other side. The Sens have shut the Leafs out in one meeting this season and beat them 2-1 in the other. That Ottawa is in a fight for a wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference will provide further motivation. We don’t know how first-round matchups will play out, but we don’t think the Sens, who are looking to earn an invitation to the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since 2017, would be at the top of the list for preferred opponents for the Leafs.
Monday and Wednesday next week feature visits by the Calgary Flames and Colorado Avalanche respectively. The Flames, Vancouver Canucks and St. Louis Blues have eyes on the second wildcard spot in the Western Conference; we just saw the Avs dismantle the Leafs in Denver last week.
Some of the areas of interest we’ll be keeping an eye on as the home stand progresses:
The play of Matthews and Marner
What the Leafs duo produces always is a centre of attention, but moreso in the coming days.
In all likelihood, the Leafs will require one or the other to make a difference.
Auston Matthews continues to not do what he does best — put the puck in the net. After going six games without a goal, Matthews has three goals in his past nine. That’s nowhere near what Matthews is capable of scoring. Of his 23 goals, 14 have been scored at Scotiabank Arena.
Mitch Marner will play in front of home fans for the first time since turning down any notion that he would waive his no-movement clause as part of a trade to the Carolina Hurricanes for Mikko Rantanen. Anything approaching a negative reaction would be off-base.
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How fast can Laughton and Carlo fit in?
Neither centre Scott Laughton nor defenceman Brandon Carlo were great in their first two games with the Leafs after being acquired from Philadelphia and Boston respectively.
That shouldn’t be surprising, given the quick turnaround for both. With a good run at home now — and it really is home for Laughton, an Oakville native — each should have an increase in their comfort.
There’s still some experimenting to be done on the part of Leafs coach Craig Berube and how he eventually will settle on his lines.
Will Laughton and Max Domi, who have known each other since they were kids, be able to make it work on the same line?
It’s good that Pontus Holmberg has been moved out of the top six, but does Calle Jarnkrok really belong on the second line? Bobby McMann, who missed the playoffs last spring with an injury, is better-suited to play with John Tavares and William Nylander, isn’t he?
And how much can the Leafs rely on the seemingly always-injured Max Pacioretty to make a consistent impact once his returns?
As for Carlo and Morgan Rielly, the sooner they gel the better. A fan base that’s divided on Rielly would be set at ease.
Chris Tanev: Wherefore art thou?
Defenceman Chris Tanev has missed the past six games with an upper-body injury and the lack of his impact has been felt. Tanev sets the tone within Toronto’s defensive-zone structure and it’s no coincidence that the Leafs have been too loose in that area during his absence.
There should be some clarity on Tanev’s status when the Leafs return to practice on Wednesday at the Ford Performance Centre. Keep your fingers crossed that he won’t be out much longer. The Leafs will be.
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Is Stolarz the man?
Anthony Stolarz has a grip on the No. 1 spot with 18 games and just over a month remaining in the regular season. He will look to firm it up more against his former team, the Panthers, on Thursday.
Joseph Woll was solid in a 29-save performance in the Leafs’ 4-3 shootout win in Utah on Monday, an indication that he has left a couple of poor performances behind.
The best-case scenario for the Leafs is that Stolarz continues to do what he has been doing all season — he’s second among NHL goalies with a .921 save percentage — and that Woll keeps pace.
X: @koshtorontosun
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