"Mixing it up": Keefe gives Leafs defensive pairs a shuffle
Just three games into the season, the Toronto Maple Leafs are already tinkering with their defensive pairs.
Through nine periods (and one scoreless five-minute overtime frame), Toronto has given up 13 goals to date, tied for a league-high.
Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe opted to give the team’s defensive pairs a shakeup in last night’s 4-1 loss to Chicago, swapping Jake McCabe and Mark Giordano, giving them new partners to start the third period in Timothy Liljegren and John Klingberg, respectively.
“Just mixing it up,” Keefe told reporters postgame as the reason for the change, though he wouldn’t comment on if the team plans to stick with that lineup moving forward.
As per MoneyPuck, Toronto put up 5.64 expected goals in all situations to Chicago’s 3.2, so it’s not like they weren’t still controlling the pace of play. But goals have still been aplenty for Toronto’s opponents, aided by the team’s combined .851 save percentage that ranks 26th in the league over the first week.
McCabe and Klingberg have particularly struggled defensively to start the year, as they’re the only two Leafs defenders trending in a negative direction in both expected and counting stats. At -5, McCabe’s 5v5 on-ice goal differential is the worst in the league amongst defenceman, having been on the ice for just one goal compared to six against in 50 minutes of ice time.
“We just have to continue to focus on the things that we have been focusing on. The next game we play is not going to be like this one,” Keefe added. “We had the puck probably 75% of the game tonight. That is not going to happen when we go out on the road. The game is going to be different.”
After three home games to start the season, the Leafs are set for a five-game road trip over the next two weeks, where they’ll face off against Florida, Tampa Bay, Washington, Dallas, and Nashville.
With their first two opponents the divisional rivals they faced off in last spring’s playoffs, Keefe added that the team is well aware of the challenge that lies ahead.
“It is going to be a tough road trip for us,” Keefe added. “Quality opponents. Going down to Florida, we are familiar with what we are up against there. We will just focus on that.”