Leafs star acknowledges the need for the team to be more aggressive with the puck
The Toronto Maple Leafs' high-octane offense hasn't necessarily met expectations as they currently sit 25th in the NHL in goals scored at 2.71 per game, 13th in shots on goal at 32.1, 15th best power play that is clicking at a rate of just 22.2%, and the 6th worst shooting percentage at 8.4%. Not the worst numbers in the world, but for a team with high expectations and elite players, it's not great.
Give credit where credit is due as the Vegas Golden Knights are built from the back end out and they stifled the Maple Leafs on Monday night en route to a 3-1 victory. The Leafs had 23 shots in the game, including 13 in the final 40 minutes, with Auston Matthews and Michael Bunting combining for almost half of their shots all game.
Mitch Marner when asked about the lack of chances and scoring opportunities, responded back by saying that "When we see opportunities, we have to attack. We can't sit back and hold onto the puck."
Marner, for instance, has 1 shot in his last 2 games and hasn't exceeded 2 shots outside of their second game of the season against the Washington Capitals where he fired 5 towards the net. William Nylander has 4 shots in his last 2 games but has at least met the 3+ shots on goal target throughout the start of the year.
The Leafs need more from their top guns and they need to hold onto the puck a lot less, stop trying to execute the pretty pass and begin to fire at will. They have enough star power to rack up goals at a break-neck pace. Matthews and Nylander possess some of the best snap shots in the league. I'd anticipate a much more aggressive offense from the Leafs starting tonight in San Jose.
| POLL | ||
OCTOBRE 27 | 188 ANSWERS Leafs star acknowledges the need for the team to be more aggressive with the puck How many total goals will the Leafs score on the 3-game California road trip? | ||
| 5 or less | 35 | 18.6 % |
| 6-10 | 100 | 53.2 % |
| 11-15 | 39 | 20.7 % |
| More than 15 | 14 | 7.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
