I’m not entirely sure why the Leafs have had such problems with the Bruins in recent games, but I have my suspicions. It seems to me that the Boston Blueline is just the right (or wrong, depending on viewpoint) size to give the Leaf forecheckers fits.
Zdeno Chara, Andrew Alberts, Paul Mara… they’re not very fast, but they are very big. Just big enough to keep the Buds from getting a strong cycle going. They clog the slot, they clog the corners, and while the Leafs solved the defence enough to get over 40 shots tonight, they didn’t get the really quality chances they were looking for.
I’m not a big fan of Tim Thomas, but he’s more than capable of making saves coming from 30 foot wristers with no traffic. The lone Leaf goal was, not surprisingly, a garbage goal from Nikolai Antropov, the result of hard work and a solid drive to the net. Many more similar plays fizzled out because Boston did an excellent job stopping the Leafs from getting anywhere near the net.
I didn’t see as many dump-ins to Chara’s side of the rink, but mostly because I didn’t see many dump-ins. Even after the Bruins displayed time and again their plan was to line up four men at their own blueline and dare the Leafs to try and carry the puck in, the Leafs tried to carry the puck in. And it didn’t work.
So, another loss to another division rival the Leafs have had trouble with of late. Between the Sabres, Senators and now Bruins, the Leafs have to play 24 games a year against teams they have trouble beating even when they have the stronger team. Add eight always-close games against the Canadiens and the road out of the playoffs becomes apparent.
Not nearly enough emotion in these division games. That’ll have to change if the Buds want to keep ahead of the mob of teams just behind them in the standings, let alone catch some of the conference leaders.
Now, let’s talk about the power play. Specifically, the extended 5-on-3 the Leafs blew with the score tied 1-1.
5-on-3’s are dangerous for two reasons: first, and most obviously, with 2 extra men on the ice, there’s bound to be open men just itching for one-timers. Just based on percentages, the team on the power play should easily win virtually every race to the puck and virtually every single battle for the puck. The defenders cannot possibly cover all of their opponents and so they are left to try and limit the chances and especially limit their quality.
The second reason 2 man advantages are so effective is because it is so easy to tire out your opponent. With even a moderately successful power play, the defenders are forced to over-exert themselves trying to cover almost 2 opponents each.
The only time this doesn’t happen is when a team’s power play decides to stand still, relying on puck movement alone to get their opponents moving. This is what the Leafs did tonight. The three Bruins were able to stand virtually still, waving their sticks in the passing lanes they knew the Leafs would use.
Word is out on the Leaf power play, and Paul Maurice and Co. had better take note. If the Leafs make the same mistake they did last year - trying one play over and over and lack of success be damned - the power play will fizzle just as it did a year ago. The play may have changed, but a diagonal cross-criss pass to Darcy Tucker is no harder to defend against than a point to point one-timer from Bryan McCabe at the blueline. At least, not when everyone knows that it’s coming.
The same principles are also in play in regular 5-on-4 power plays, though everything is obviously enhanced when up 2 men. We need to see much more movement - from players and not only from the puck - on the power play. Keep the opponent guessing, look for opportunities, keep those big mobile screens - your forwards and your opponents defencemen - shifting in front of the goalie. Just moving the puck is simply not enough.