Former Leaf identifies the number one issue for this Leafs team heading into the playoffs
Until yesterday afternoon, the Leafs were preparing to face Sergei Bobrovsky last night. Then the Panthers shocked everyone by saying that Alex Lyon was going to start and that Bobrovsky wasn't even going to be available for the game. It ended up being a wise decision from Head Coach Paul Maurice as Lyon was outstanding and essentially stole the game for Florida.
On TSN1050's "First Up" this morning Carlo Colaiacovo raised his concerns about a particular issue the Leafs have always been called out for lacking. "Should there be more concern about this Leaf team being 'goalied' by AHL goalies and backup goalies, asked Colaiacovo. Go back to Carolina, Pyotr Kochetkov who has spent most of the year in the AHL...44 shots only scored 3 and lost. Kevin Lankinen... 34 shots, only 3 goals. Last night Alex Lyon whos an American League goalie you put up 43 shots, only 2 goals," Colaiacovo said, referencing a few recent games the Leafs have played second and third string goalies. He continued by saying, "The only reason why this could be a concerning trend...if you're having a hard time scoring against these goalies, putting up those type of shots and you're preparing to play against Andrei Vasilevskiy, you know what this tells me? This Leaf team is not doing enough to score some of those dirtier goals."
While Colaiacovo may have a partially valid point, the Leafs were also critcized for not scoring enough "dirty" goals last season heading into the playoffs, but managed to hand Vasilevskiy his worst series save percentage in Tampa's consecutive runs to the Cup final with a .887 save percentage. According to Dobber Sports, the Leafs currently rank seventh (5v5) in HDSF/60, HDGF/60 and HDGF% per 60, slightly ahead of their first round opponent Tampa Bay and slightly behind the Bruins. So to say that the Leafs don't score enough "dirty" goals, is a bit lackadaisical in the research department.
