November 3, 2009.
With the Toronto Maple Leafs getting set to take the ice back home at the Air Canada Center for the first time since October 17th, we take a look back at the five game roadtrip to see if anything has changed since their abysmal seven game start to the season.
The Leafs started out the season with a winless record of 0-6-1 managing to steal just one point of the initial fourteen available. During that time they had a -18 goal differential after being outscored 32 - 14 by opponents. Since then, while on their five game roadtrip, they have been able to secure five of a possible ten points to end the month of October. While away from home, the Leafs were able to finish with a 1-1-3 record and a respectable -1 goal differential, being outscored just 17 - 16 in the last five games.
Although I was unable to see the entirety of their five game roadtrip, I was able to see enough of each game to notice some key changes to the Toronto Maple Leafs style of play that could explain the better record as of late.
The first thing I noticed came in the third period against Vancouver on October 24th when the Leafs were down 2 - 1. With Toronto fighting to tie it up, the Leafs' defence began pinching in the offensive zone to keep the puck in deep and maintain pressure. Although this didn't result in a goal, it gave Toronto multiple scoring chances and opportunities that could very well have tied the game had Roberto Luongo not played as well as he did in that final period. Read more.....
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