{"id":2681,"date":"2016-10-22T00:14:12","date_gmt":"2016-10-22T04:14:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/?p=2681"},"modified":"2016-10-22T09:40:27","modified_gmt":"2016-10-22T13:40:27","slug":"2681","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2016\/10\/22\/2681\/","title":{"rendered":"Toronto Maple Leafs Have Firepower Through Underlying Numbers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Uncertainty loomed over the Greater Toronto Area prior to the Toronto Maple Leafs <\/strong>season opener.<\/p>\n

There was a new goalie tandem in town with Frederik Andersen<\/a><\/strong> signing a big contract, Mitch Marner <\/strong><\/a>was finally going to be tested against the pros, the team in general was set to have more young players in their line-up. The NHL<\/strong> was welcomed to the Auston Matthews<\/a> <\/strong>show in his first game. Two games later, Patrik Laine<\/a><\/strong>, who went second overall behind Matthews in the summer, put on a show in Winnipeg against the Leafs with his first career hat trick. Four games in and the Maple Leafs find themselves 1-1-2, and while that\u2019s not particularly bad after a small sample size of games, the way they lost those games wasn\u2019t promising in collapsing-fashion. Even though most of their games were unsettling to watch at times, the Maple Leafs have shown some firepower through their youthful stars.<\/p>\n

Keep in mind that four games is not enough to put a significant amount of value in stats. Goalies go on hot and cold streaks, rosters change, a player\u2019s shooting percentage is probably not close to his career average yet. Basically, a lot can adjust\u00a0in a few games. This is why corsi, which measures shot attempts directed towards\u00a0the net, is becoming more and more popular because it stays relatively consistent despite small sample sizes. Corsi can reveal the positives and negatives of what a team is doing on the ice that the \u201ceye-test\u201d can easily miss. But anyways, back to the Leafs.<\/p>\n

Maple Leafs Have Firepower Through Underlying Numbers<\/h3>\n

So far this season, Toronto has been fairly strong when it comes to possessing the puck. Their corsi-for percentage (CF%) ranks fourth in the league at 55.80%, behind just the Los Angeles Kings<\/strong>,\u00a0San Jose Sharks<\/strong>, and\u00a0Washington Capitals<\/strong>. Having a young team that can possess the puck as well as the Leafs will help bring hope to the Toronto fan base. Even though the Leafs have only just one win after four games, they\u2019re still an incredibly fun team to watch. They rank first and third in the league in corsi-for per-60 minutes (CF60) and scoring changes per-60 minutes (SCF60) respectively. That\u2019s a lot of firepower coming towards the other team\u2019s zone. The options Toronto has in Marner, Matthews, William Nylander<\/a><\/strong>, Nazem Kadri<\/a><\/strong>, and James van Riemsdyk<\/a><\/strong> (to name few) are looking like more of a threat as each game passes.<\/p>\n

On the\u00a0defensive side of things, Toronto isn\u2019t as spectacular suppressing shots as they are generating them, however they are no slouch for an unproven group of defensemen. So far, they rank 16th<\/sup> in the league in corsi-against per-60 minutes (CA60) and eighth\u00a0in scoring chances-against per-60 minutes (SCA60).<\/p>\n

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The isolation of Hunwick is already underway. Safe to bet this will continue to get worse. #Leafs<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/4zBRPBzcL3<\/a><\/p>\n

— Sean Tierney (@ChartingHockey) October 20, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n