The Toronto Maple Leafs have been back and forth all season long with their five-forward power play unit. It was an early season experiment when the team’s power play was struggling and, while it didn’t click extremely well then, coach Craig Berube has gone back to the five-forward unit again and it seems to be running hot at the perfect time of the season.
For those outside the Maple Leafs circle, their top unit is as follows: Mitch Marner, Auston Matthews, William Nylander, John Tavares and Matthew Knies. All of them are 20-goal scorers this season and they currently sit as the top-five goal scorers on the Maple Leafs. Seems like a good strategy right?
Well, it’s officially paying off for the team and it couldn’t come at a better time, as the Maple Leafs are fighting for first in the Atlantic Division and they will need this unit to click as they head into the playoffs.
Maple Leafs Five-Forward Power Play Atop the NHL
Now, it may be a small sample size given the NHL’s Trade Deadline only passed by on March 7. That said, since the deadline, the Maple Leafs’ five-forward unit has been the most efficient unit in all of hockey.
As NHL Network’s Mike Kelly points out, the Maple Leafs’ top unit had eight goals in just under 19 minutes of ice-time as of March 26. That’s a 8.5 goals per 20 minute efficiency that this unit was operating at. The next closest group that had played a minimum of 10 minutes was Vegas’ top unit of Jack Eichel, Noah Hanifin, Mark Stone, Pavel Dorofeyev and Tomáš Hertl who was averaging 6.7 goals per 20 minutes.
Since this post, the Maple Leafs have had just one other game – a loss to the San Jose Sharks in a shootout. During that game, the Maple Leafs’ went two-for-four with the man advantage, including goals from Nylander and Matthews. That line saw about three minutes of power play time again scoring the two goals and bringing their efficiency number up to 9.09 goals per 20 minutes.
Maple Leafs Need Power Play Success Come Playoffs
One of the biggest struggles for the Maple Leafs in recent playoff runs has been their success with the man advantage. The team has been criticized over the pas couple of seasons for not taking advantage of their opportunities when they had them in key situations against teams like the Boston Bruins and Florida Panthers.
Related: Maple Leafs Could Face Offer Sheets for Matthew Knies
Given the team’s recent successes this season in that category, it seems necessary to stick with the group that has found a way of producing. From the early stages of the season when the Maple Leafs couldn’t seem to get anything going on the power play to now, the team is ranked fifth in the NHL in power play efficiency at 26.5 percent.
The firepower that Berube has set up on that first unit is top-tiered. Tavares has been the hottest player in the month of March when it comes to goal scoring, while Nylander is tied with Eichel for the most points in the month. Playoffs don’t start for another few weeks, but if Berube’s top unit can continue to operate at this level, they could make a strong push in the playoffs for the first time in a while.
Maple Leafs’ Power Play Stacks Up Well Against Potential Opposition
As of now, the Maple Leafs have four potential first-round opponents. The Panthers, the Tampa Bay Lightning or one of the wildcard teams – which right now boil down to the Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators. Given those current placements in the standings, here’s how the Maple Leafs stack up compared to opposition penalty kill units.
As we mentioned, the Maple Leafs are currently fifth in the league in power play efficiency – scoring one every four opportunities roughly. For special teams, the Lightning could pose the most difficult opponent in the first round. The Lightning’s penalty kill is operating at an 82.3 percent efficiency rate.
Beyond that, the Maple Leafs stand a better chance against the three other options. The Panthers’ penalty kill is operating at a rate of 80.9 percent, 11th in the NHL, while the Canadiens sit 12th (80.4) and the Senators sit 19th (77.3). As for the Maple Leafs, if you’re wondering, they’re penalty kill is 16th in the NHL with a 78.1 percent efficiency.
So, pick your poison come playoff time, but one thing the Maple Leafs should consider is that their five-forward power play unit might be their best shot at catching fire come playoff time.
