An abysmal OT record is the only reason the Leafs aren't currently 1st place in the NHL
The Toronto Maple Leafs currently own a 15-5-6 record, good enough for 36 points and 2nd in the league's toughest division. One can't help but wonder, though, where this team would be if they had a shred of competency in overtime. So far this season, the Leafs have had 7 games go to overtime. They won just 1 of those games, against the Dallas Stars on a Nick Robertson goal. The rest have rarely made it past the first 30 seconds.
In fairness to the Leafs, Saturday night's first round rematch with the Tampa Bay Lightning had no business going to overtime. Nikita Kucherov, who should have been ejected from the game for his hit on Justin Holl late in the second period, tied the game early in the third after a weak call on Mitch Marner handed the Bolts a 4 on 3 Powerplay. After another Tampa Powerplay failed to convert, Kucherov faked an injury to draw a call on Timothy Liljegren, which led to the Lightning taking the lead.
The Leafs stormed back, tying the game on their own Powerplay before a Herculean effort from John Tavares ended with the puck in the back of Tampa's net. Somehow, the goal was disallowed because while being slewfooted, Tavares' foot kicked the puck over the line. Neither the trip nor the obvious hold from Victor Hedman on the play were called.
The Leafs lost this one off of a soft goal from Alex Killorn, one that Matt Murray admits he should have had. After his fantastic November, Murray has earned some leeway here. Still, a save there would have been nice.
A 1-6 record in overtime is completely unacceptable for a team this good. Even after dedicating time to practicing 3-on-3 hockey, the Leafs just can't figure it out this season. They've never been great at it, but they've also never been THIS bad. The team has been playing extremely well, with only one loss in regulation in their last 17 games. They just can't do 3-on-3 for some reason. The Leafs currently sit 4 points behind the Boston Bruins for the league lead. A couple of 3-on-3 goals would have them right there with the best in the league. At this point, all they can do is be thankful there's no 3-on-3 in the playoffs.
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 4 | 262 ANSWERS An abysmal OT record is the only reason the Leafs aren't currently 1st place in the NHL Should the Leafs dedicate an entire practice to 3-on-3 overtime this week? | ||
| Yes, they need it | 204 | 77.9 % |
| No, it's very situational | 36 | 13.7 % |
| Nothing will help this cursed team | 22 | 8.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
