The Maple Leafs are looking to get on the right side of .500 in their first 2014-15 meeting with division rival Detroit.
The Maple Leafs are coming off their best ‘possession’ performance in over 25 games on Tuesday, but did so against the reeling and typically puck-poor Colorado Avalanche. How will they fare against a more respectable possession team in a divisional back-to-back this weekend? The Leafs were decidedly outplayed by the Wings last season in losing three of four to Detroit outside of their shootout Winter Classic win.
In the 152 games Carlyle has coached the Leafs, only 13 had a higher possession figure than last night. Not a trend yet but…
— James Mirtle (@mirtle) October 15, 2014
There will be no Pavel Datsyuk for Detroit, and there will be a Jake Gardiner for the Leafs in the place of Stephane Robidas, who was noticeably struggling with pace and timing having played so little hockey in the last half-year.
James Reimer will go tonight, his third straight start, while Jonathan Bernier takes the second leg tomorrow in Detroit.
| Leafs | Red Wings | |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 2-2-0 | 1-1-1 |
| Goals/Game | 3.5 | 2.0 |
| Goals Against/Game | 3.5 | 2.0 |
| Shots/Game | 32.0 | 24.3 |
| Shots Against/Game | 33.8 | 27.3 |
| Even Strength CF% | 46% | 51% |
| EV Team SV% | 90.35% | 91.04% |
| EV Team SH% | 8.51% | 6.78% |
| PDO | .989 | .978 |
| PK% | 75% | 100% |
| PP% | 29.4% | 18.2% |
Seven Questions with rival blog Winging it in Motown
Detroit is having some problems scoring goals, what does Detroit need to do the order to be successful for the game tonight offensively?
Their power play needs to be better and their scorers need to stop missing so many good chances. Outside of getting pasted possession-wise against the Bruins on Wednesday, the Wings are doing well enough with the puck.
Detroit is one of the best teams—so far—in terms of goals allowed and is perfect on the penalty kill through 3 games. How much of this is good execution from the players and how much is on goalies.
The penalty killing of Drew Miller and Luke Glendening has been superb and Jimmy Howard has had a great sense of when to freeze the puck and how to get the rebounds to the right areas.
How is their 5v5 play?
The last Boston game did damage to their numbers, but they’ve done well at 5-on-5. The troubling part is turnovers by the defensemen. That will bite any team.
Nyquist is red hot (again). He has 3 goals on only 8 shots. Is he playing well or is the bulk of that luck?
Well, I don’t think anybody has ever held up a 37% shooting percentage over the course of a season, so luck absolutely has to play into it, but Nyquist’s goals are all from the “Home Plate” area of the ice. He’s getting into good spots to score and they’re going in for him.
What’s the scouting report on Toronto so far (strengths/weaknesses)?
I’ll admit I haven’t paid much attention to Toronto yet. I’m cautious about underestimating them because it seems like there’s a lot more brainpower in the front office than there used to be, but I’m not terribly convinced of the team’s forward depth and I have absolutely no idea what to make of their defense right now. I want to think they’re pretty good, but that could go south in a hurry.
{insert Mike Babcock coaching in Toronto question here}
{insert dismissive “good luck prying him away from Pittsburgh” response here}
Are you fully prepared for when Babcock leaves to Toronto?
Absolutely. I don’t want to see Babcock go, but it’s his call. If he wants to leave, I’m confident that the grooming the team has done with Jeff Blashill over the last few years will leave them in much better position to replace a Hall of Fame-caliber person than the last time that happened to the Wings.
Lines
Dion phaneuf looks like he'll pair up with Cody Franson tonight. #TMLTalk
— Paul Hendrick (@HennyTweets) October 17, 2014
