They will need to be sharp in their own end and smart with the puck as they take on the Washington Capitals, Detroit Red Wings and Ottawa Senators this week.
The Maple Leafs will take on the Capitals in a rematch from last year's first round of the playoffs. The Leafs will need to use their speed and attack the Capitals defense to cause turnovers. Toronto needs to get the first goal, hold the lead and don't let the Caps back in the game. The Maple Leafs need to be a tight team defensively because if they aren't then the Capitals offense can explode for some goals. The goalie is going to need to make some key saves because there will be chances from guys like Alex Ovechkin, T.J. Oshie and Evgeny Kutznetsov. The Leafs are going to need to stop the Caps top six and make the bottom six beat them.
The Capitals will need to get the first goal and keep attacking. They will somehow need to contain the speed of Toronto. The Caps need to attack the defense of the Leafs and force some turnovers to create scoring chances. Washington will need to be aware of where Auston Matthews and William Nylander are on the ice. They are going to need to limit their mistakes and be smart with the puck.
The Leafs return home on Wednesday night to take on Atlantic Division rival, the Detroit Red Wings. Toronto is going to need to contain Dylan Larkin since he has the speed to get behind the defense of the Leafs. The Maple Leafs need to be aware of the Red Wings defense because they can join the play in the offensive zone, and they do a good job of keeping the puck in the zone if you try to clear up the wall. The Leafs just need to get a ton of shots on goal. Toronto needs to get off to a fast start since Detroit tends to get better as the game goes on.
The Red Wings need to spend some time in the offensive zone to try to get some goals since they have gotten off to some slow starts this year. Detroit needs to be better at even strength and keeping the goals against down a little bit. The Red Wings will need to contain the Leafs speed and one way to do that is to spend a bulk of the game in the offensive zone. Detroit needs to be better on face-offs and win some of them because winning a face-off could mean more puck possession. The Red Wings are also going to need to be aware of Auston Matthews since he has scored some goals against them in his young career.
The Leafs go back on the road to finish out its week and take on the Ottawa Senators. The Leafs will need to be aware Erik Karlsson joining the rush in the offensive zone. Toronto needs to get plenty of traffic in front of the net. The Maple Leafs need to be patient and not force a shot since the Sens have no problem blocking shots. The Leafs need to bring its balanced attack, and to keep getting shots on goal even if they aren't going in.
The Senators need to eliminate the turnovers especially in their own end and through the neutral zone to contain the speed of the Leafs. Ottawa needs to bring a balanced attack and not just have the top six producing points. The Senators just need to play their game and not worry about what the Leafs are doing. Ottawa has a good penalty kill but they may want to stay out of the box because the power play of the Leafs isn't too shabby.
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