The Leafs lead the entire NHL in this major stat, which is insane when you consider the injury trouble they've faced
Morgan Rielly last played on November 21st and since then, the Leafs have been without him, T.J. Brodie and Jake Muzzin. Without three of their top-six blueliners, along with injuries to Jordie Benn and now Victor Mete, the Leafs have dressed a league-high 12 different defensemen so far this season. Yet, somehow, since Rielly went down on November 21st, the Leafs are 6-0-1 and have the lowest goals against per 60 in the entire league at 1.71 GA/60.
On top of having the lowest goals against per 60, through those 7 games without Rielly, the Leafs also lead the league in save percentage (.948), points (13) and points percentage (.929). At the time Rielly went down with injury, already without Brodie and Muzzin, everyone thought that the Leafs were going to struggle mightily. That has certainly not been the case, rather the complete opposite. Surprisingly, Justin Holl and Mark Giordano have played very well together as the Leafs' top pair while Timothy Liljegren and Rasmus Sandin have taken a stronghold on the opportunity they were presented with and have excelled with additional responsibilities and ice time.
As a team, without three of their top defensemen, the Leafs are still in the top 10 defensively as all the players have bought into a more defensive structure and system from Sheldon Keefe, who should be in the Jack Adams conversation at this point of the season. The "Core 4" is leading the team offensively as they're paid to do, but it is the overall team defense that is helping the Leafs win games.
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 7 | 298 ANSWERS The Leafs lead the entire NHL in this major stat, which is insane when you consider the injury trouble they've faced Are you beginning to believe that this Leafs team is going to go on a very deep playoff run this season? | ||
| Yes | 228 | 76.5 % |
| No | 70 | 23.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
