Game 28 Scoring Chances: Maple Leafs 2 vs. Red Wings 1 (SO)

The Toronto Maple Leafs had one of the worst chance performances I’ve seen, almost as bad as the game that Buffalo played against them in October.

Toronto were out-chanced 19-3 at ES after two periods, and had absolutely no business being in the game at all, let alone being down by just one. For that, they had to thank the excellent performance of James Reimer, who held off Detroit’s challenges. They also had a strong penalty killing game, which has become a regular occurrence. The third period was better, and Toronto managed to get level through Kessel, but even then they were out-chanced worse than 2-to-1. Somehow, though, Toronto survived to a shoot-out, where they claimed an unlikely victory. I’d call it undeserved, but that would be unfair to Reimer, who made up for a poor effort from his team-mates.

Thirty-seven chances against is the worst of the season, and is even worse than the Leafs managed in that Buffalo game. 20% at ES is terrible, and the fact that the ES Close is even worse only furthers what a blowout this was. The second period, which has been the Leafs‘ best all year, was the worst of it tonight, with the Leafs getting under 10% of chances.

The player-by-player data:

This can be a tough type of night to assess, as virtually everyone was bad. The fourth line forwards, particularly the returning Brandon Kozun and Panik, were the closest to even, but that’s mostly down to how little they played. Phil Kessel and James Van Riemsdyk were fine, both ending up in the negative, but only moderately, while Tyler Bozak was much worse, a -8. However, that wasn’t close to the worst of the forwards, as Joffrey Lupul, who’s been strong since his return, had a horrible defensive night, a -12 at ES close. Even worse than that was Mike Santorelli, who was on for an astonishing 16 Red Wing ES chances in just 15 ES minutes. Nazem Kadri also had a tough night, as similar to Bozak he ended up at -7. Booth, Holland and Clarkson were probably the highlights up front, all ending up at just -3.

Korbinian Holzer had another terrible night, not on for a single Leaf chance, and finishing as a -11, the worst on the defence. Rielly and Gardiner were also both quite poor, both -8 at ES Close. Stephane Robidas also made the list of infamy, finishing at -10 at ES Close. That left Phaneuf and Franson as the ‘good’ performers, though both were -6 at ES overall, hardly strong showings.

Cumulative numbers this season:

Everyone takes big drops in this one, with Clarkson, who had a decent game, staying on top. Lupul drops all the way down to the mid-table. Jake Gardiner’s poor numbers drop him a long way down the table, and he’s now one of the worst regular Leafs. Robidas and Santorelli both fall below the 40% mark at ES Close, making them the two lowest regulars in that category.