What’s hurting the Maple Leafs’ penalty kill?

After looking like they were in trouble with losses in five of six games, the Toronto Maple Leafs have bounced back with back-to-back wins over the Calgary Flames and Colorado Avalanche this week. Since the 4 Nations Face-Off break, they’ve been solid with an 8-4-1, and yet it feels like they’re slipping in the Atlantic Division.

That’s because under the hood, it hasn’t been nearly as good for the Leafs since the break. Their even strength play has slipped with a 47.64% 5v5 expected goal share that ranks 22nd in the league. Their power play has been clicking at 36.1% during this time, but that’s come at the expense of their penalty kill, which has been a disastrous 70.3%, the fifth-worst mark in the league.

So what’s causing that penalty kill to slip, despite the fact that it was so good to start the season? Jon Goyens joined Daily Faceoff Live to talk about the Leafs penalty kill and what’s caused it’s performance to slip.

Jon Goyens: The first time I did a recap [on the Leafs], which was December 18th, they were seventh in the league at 82.1%. Since the 4 Nations Face-Off, it’s dropped dramatically. They sit at 70.3%, 28th in the league since the 4 Nations.

And it’s just some sloppy decisions. It’s too easy to hit the bumper guy in the middle of the ice. Way too easy. So there’s examples of that.

And I’m not going to lie, you have two goalies, one that’s just over .900 in save percentage, one that’s below. And that’s only changed in the last couple games with the wins against Calgary and Colorado, but it’s just not good enough since the 4 Nations. They need a save on the penalty kill.

You can watch Goyens’ video breakdown of the Leafs’ penalty kill, and the rest of the show here…