The Toronto Maple Leafs are off to a great start, but their wins haven’t all been pretty. In fact they lead the league in giveaways and had 21 last night alone.
Still, they earned a 6-5 overtime victory against the Edmonton Oilers in a back-and-forth contest.
“My teeth are going to be ground down by the 20-game mark, the way we were exchanging chances and mistakes,” Maple Leafs coach Randy Carlyle said. “But hey, that’s hockey early in the season.”
If this trend continues, it might come back to haunt Toronto, but there are certainly plenty of positives to take away from their hot start. The team, even with David Clarkson just halfway through his 10-game suspension, has enjoyed a balanced attack. Five different players are averaging a point-per-game and 16 Leafs have already recorded a point.
Goaltender Jonathan Bernier was obviously beaten regularly on Saturday, but he’s been great too for the most part. As a result, the Toronto Maple Leafs are the surprising leaders of the Atlantic Division with a 5-1-0 record.
They’ll look to continue that on Tuesday against Minnesota and, for Carlyle’s sake, hopefully play a less dramatic game.