Andersen, Campbell & NHL Power Rankings

In his edition of the Toronto Maple Leafs News & Rumors, I’ll take a look at the news emerging from the team as they head to Minnesota to take on Wild on Saturday Night. Both teams are playing well and getting wins.

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For the Maple Leafs, there is an opportunity to set a team record for consecutive wins on the road. The team will look for a winning line eight in a row. Three times before this season, the Maple Leafs have won seven in a row – in 2002-03, 1960-61 and 1940-41. Good luck to them in this quest.

Section 1: Former Maple Leafs goalkeeper Frederik Andersen has lost 3 games in a row

When Frederik Andersen starting this season with his new team, Hurricane Carolina is like a house on fire, it’s a bit out of shape. He has a reputation for being a slow starter. That great start soon came with hints that the Maple Leafs might have made a mistake by not re-signing him. The conversation caused a little controversy and I responded by write feedback that Maple Leafs was right in picking current starter Jack Campbell over Andersen.

I think I might revisit that thought a week later. Campbell continued his victories, but Andersen slowed down. Earlier this week, in a 4-1 loss to the Dallas Stars on Tuesday, Andersen conceded three goals from 16 shots. (Fourth goal into an empty net.)

Defeat against another goalkeeper Braden Holtby, who blocked 39 of the Storm’s 40 hits, marking Andersen’s third loss in a row. His record dropped to 11-5-0, average goal difference increased to 2.05 and save percentage dropped to 0.928 saves in 16 games.

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As I noted in an earlier post, I note that Campbell of the Maple Leafs compares favorably to Andersen – at least for this point of the season. As an Andersen supporter, what I’d like to see is both Campbell and Andersen doing well to see Campbell beat Andersen head-to-head. Campbell currently leads the NHL in three key goalkeeping categories. He has 13 wins; his average of goals is 1.72; and, his savings percentage is 0.943.

I will continue to monitor this comparison as the season progresses. I guess fans of Maple Leafs will be just as happy to see what’s going on as I’m following it.

Item 2: Improved Defense or Great Goal Scorer?

Talking about the ability to score goals, the defense of the Maple Leafs team this season seems to be even better than last season. Maple Leafs fans will recall that with the rise of TJ Brodie and Zach Bogosian last season, the team’s defense last season was just as good as in recent memory. The defense was an area of ​​concern after the 2018-19 season and it was well addressed before the 2019-20 season.

However, this season’s defense has improved even more. Both Timothy Liljegren and Rasmus Sandin played well. Add to that the increased commitment of strikers to play defensively; and now the team has a bigger chance to win the games in different ways.

That stingy defense suggests that the team is more likely to play playoff hockey. Part of the team’s improved defense is probably a combination of Campbell’s solid play and the solid defence. Both eat each other. This season, the defense seem to believe in scoring and play with the utmost confidence that they can make mistakes without a goal.

Item 3: Maple Leaf Promotes “Some” NHL Power Rankings

Recent NHL strength rankings provided by various sports companies show some variation in the success of the Maple Leafs. For example, CBS Sports recently named the Maple Leafs the best team in the NHL. But, ESPN’s strength rankings placed the Maple Leafs lower.

Especially, CBS Sports suggests that “The Toronto Maple Leafs are living well with the Stanley Cup hype throughout the first quarter of the season.”

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The CBS Strengths Rankings noted that, prior to the season’s opening, “the Maple Leafs had some of the highest expectations of any team in the league. Forget the first round of the knockout round: the goal is the Stanley Cup parade in Toronto. Well, that goal seems within reach, based on how things look these days. “

CBS Sports added that “The Maple Leafs are in tears. Everything from scoring to scoring is working. It’s easy to look ahead and wonder if this team can get their post-season monkey back, but my advice is to stay in the moment and enjoy what the Maple Leafs are doing right now. hour. ”

CBS Sports suggests that Toronto fans, who continue to maintain the popular wait-and-see attitude, ignore the success of the regular season. In a word, the reviewer notes that the team is rolling right now and wonders if fans “have to sit on their hands for 82 games?” Finally, he added that “Toronto is a super fun team” and “you can enjoy the journey into the post-season”.

After the Maple Leafs, CBS Sports ranked the Carolina Hurricanes second, Edmonton Oilers third, Tampa Bay Lightning fourth and the Washington Capitals fifth.

On the other hand, ESPN Power Rankings Ranks First Hurricanes, Florida Panthers second, Capitals third, Maple Leafs fourth and Oilers fifth.

What is the next Maple Leafs?

On Saturday, the Maple Leafs will be looking for a team-record eighth consecutive road win against a strong Wild team. The Maple Leafs are also on a 5-game winning streak and have won 15 of their last 17 games.

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In the Wild, they face a high-scoring team that is also on a winning streak of its own – five games. It should be a good battle, but a tough one to win. As CBS Sports suggests, let’s enjoy the journey to post-season.

Former Professor (Jim Parsons, Sr.) has taught for over 40 years in the Department of Education at the University of Alberta. He is a Canadian guy, has two degrees from the University of Kentucky and a doctorate from the University of Texas. He is now retired on Vancouver Island, where he lives with his family. His hobbies include playing with his hockey cards and is simply a fan of sports – hockey, the Toronto Raptors and CFL football (given that Ricky Ray personifies the way a sportsman is). professional should act).

If you wonder why he doesn’t use his real name, it’s because his son – also Jim Parsons – wrote to Hockey writers first and asked Jim Sr. use a different name so that readers do not confuse their work.

Because Jim Sr. having worked in China, he used the Mandarin word for teacher (老師). The first character lǎo (老) means “old” and the second character shī (師) means “teacher”. The literal translation of lǎoshī is “old teacher.” That became his pseudonym. Today, in addition to writing for Hockey writers, he teaches PhD students in research design at several Canadian universities.

He looks forward to sharing his insights about the Toronto Maple Leafs and how sport makes life more fulfilling. His Twitter address is https://twitter.com/TheOldProf