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Where has the scoring gone for the Maple Leafs in Toronto?

Stan Temming
Try as they might, the Maple Leafs simply haven’t been able to score very often during their last five games at Scotiabank Arena. (Getty)
Try as they might, the Maple Leafs simply haven’t been able to score very often during their last five games at Scotiabank Arena. (Getty)

Who would have thought that this group of Toronto Maple Leafs would ever have issues putting pucks in the back of the net?

With so many offensive weapons up and down the lineup (whether Auston Matthews is dressed or not), you’d think that a difficult stretch like this just wouldn’t be possible. However, en route to their 2-1 loss against the Dallas Stars at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday night, the Maple Leafs made some history that they likely don’t want any part of.

Down 2-0 after two periods, Toronto’s Patrick Marleau broke Anton Khudobin’s shutout bid with just over three minutes remaining in the final frame. The Leafs pushed hard down the stretch for the tying marker with Frederik Andersen on the bench for the extra attacker, but they came up short.

Despite their struggles, the team was surprisingly upbeat following the game.

“We’re all happy with the effort, the results just didn’t come,” said Toronto’s Mitch Marner.

He finished the game with five of the Leafs’ 31 shots. Dallas, meanwhile, had 18 total.

“(It’s a) step in the right direction,” added blueliner Ron Hainsey, who was playing in the 1000th regular-season game of his NHL career.

Even head coach Mike Babcock didn’t seem too concerned about the current trend.

Five straight home games without a goal through forty minutes is not what you’d expect from a squad that finished tied for third in the NHL last season with 3.29 goals per game and added John Tavares in the offseason, though.

Unsurprisingly, Toronto owns a record of 1-4-0 in those five contests. The lone win came against the Winnipeg Jets on Oct. 27, the same game that Matthews left with his current shoulder injury. Down 2-0 after two periods, the Leafs scored three in the third to complete the comeback.

In those other four home games, they’ve combined for three goals and been shutout once.

It’s strange to think that this is the same team that had 20 tallies in their first four games of the 2018-19 campaign and 33 in their first seven.

On the other hand, things couldn’t be better for the squad away from home. They’re 5-0-0 on the road and that’s a big reason why they’ve remained competitive in the Atlantic Division despite this recent offensive slump while in Toronto.

With tonight’s loss, they fall to 8-5-0 overall and 0-2-0 without Matthews in the lineup.

So, is it time to blame their home arena’s name change during the offseason?

The Leafs were 29-10-2 at the Air Canada Centre last year. So far at Scotiabank Arena, they’re 3-5-0.

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