The Buds are 22nd in the NHL as of this writing, they have 30pts in 30 games. That puts them at 24th in Points%.
There are 3 teams just ahead of them, with 31pts. Those teams have 1 (Buffalo), 2 (New York Rangers) and 3 (Florida) games in hand.
There are 3 teams directly behind them, with 29pts. Those teams have 1 (Chicago), 3 (Nashville) and 4 (Tampa Bay) games in hand.
When I look at this I can only assume they will drop further in the standings, rather than climb out of the hole they’ve dug.
More than anything else, I hate that I don’t believe in this core group. I’ve been nothing but excited since the beginning of this rebuild until now.
As Jerry Seinfeld would say, that’s a shame.
The question on a lot of lips now isn’t who the Leafs will rent at the deadline, but who will buy their rental pieces? Defenders Jake Muzzin and Tyson Barrie could return a couple of decent prospects and picks. Outside of those two there isn’t much of value in terms of pending free agents, so the next question is if they’ll be willing to move on from depth players with term, such as Andreas Johnsson, Kasperi Kapanen or (in some circles), Zach Hyman.
There’s a lot of hockey to play however, and a winning streak would turn the tides. So lets hope that begins tonight against the defending champion, St. Louis Blues….. the team that Kyle Dubas feels the Leafs played their best game of the season against, way back in October, just 4 games into the year.
Mitch Marner on whether #Leafs can pull a Blues-like turnaround after a tough start to the season: "We believe in our group and we think we can achieve great things so it's just about making sure every day we come in here and do them."
— Kristen Shilton (@kristen_shilton) December 7, 2019
So based on Keefe's availability, #Leafs projected lineup tonight in St. Louis should be:
Aberg-Matthews-Nylander
Hyman-Tavares-Marner
Mikheyev-Kerfoot-Kapanen
Engvall-Spezza-PetanRielly-Barrie
Muzzin-Holl
Dermott-CeciAndersen starts
HutchinsonScratches: Timashov, Goat
— Kristen Shilton (@kristen_shilton) December 7, 2019
St. Louis Blues
Record: 18-6-6
PP%: 23.6% (6th in NHL)
PK%: 85% (5th in NHL)
GF/GP: 3.00 (14th in NHL)
GA/GP: 2.50 (5th in NHL)
S/GP: 29.5 (24th in NHL)
SA/GP: 29.9 (7th in NHL)
Toronto:
Record: 13-13-4
PP%: 19% (14th in NHL)
PK%: 75.5% (28th in NHL)
GF/GP: 3.13 (11th in NHL)
GA/GP: 3.30 (26th in NHL)
S/GP: 33.9 (5th in NHL)
SA/GP: 32.8 (27th in NHL)
