Columbus Blue Jackets: 3 keys to beating Maple Leafs in qualifying round
2. Penalty Kill
In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, special teams are important. Whenever you get a power play, it’s important to score. And whenever you are shorthanded, it’s important to not let the other team score. The Blue Jackets penalty kill will have their hands full against a lethal Maple Leafs power play.
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It shouldn’t be surprising Toronto has an excellent power play. Anytime you can trot out Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, John Tavares, William Nylander, and Tyson Barrie or Morgan Rielly on the same unit, you’re going to score goals. During the regular season, they converted on over 23% of their power play opportunities.
The Blue Jackets had a solid penalty kill, as their 81.66% kill rate ranked 12th in the NHL. But their best defense against Toronto’s power play is keeping them off the ice. The Blue Jackets aren’t elite at many things, but one thing they’re unquestionably elite at is not committing penalties.
They only averaged 4:17 per game shorthanded, the second-lowest rate in the NHL, trailing only the Winnipeg Jets. It’s not hard to imagine that being even lower in the playoffs, when refs tend to swallow their whistles at times.
If the Blue Jackets can play smart, disciplined hockey and kill whatever penalties they do commit, they have a really good chance of beating the Maple Leafs.