SIMMONS:
The numbers are working out nicely for Sheldon Keefe and the Leafs
The immediate impact Sheldon Keefe has made on a wobbling Maple Leafs season has been nothing short of remarkable.
Heading into Saturday night, the Leafs had won nine of their first 13 games with Keefe as head coach.
That’s one more win than Boston since Nov. 20.
One more than Tampa Bay. Both teams having played two more games than the Leafs.
More importantly, that’s three more wins than Montreal, Buffalo and Florida have had in a similar time frame. The Sabres have played two more games. The Panthers and Canadiens have played the same number of games and the Leafs have picked up six points and five points, respectively, on teams they are chasing for playoff position in the Atlantic Division.
The Leafs, under Keefe, have a better record than St. Louis, Colorado and Winnipeg. The Edmonton Oilers had nine more points than the Leafs when Mike Babcock was fired. Since then, the Leafs have seven more points than the struggling Oilers.
The biggest difference?
Special teams. The penalty-killing and power play under Babcock struggled terribly. The Leafs were 73% on the penalty-kill and 17.5% on the power play before the firing.
Since then, they are 86.6% on the penalty-kill and 31.8% on the power play. Those numbers can’t possibly be sustained, but they are an indication of significant change, especially considering the assistant coaches responsible for the special teams are exactly the same.
Only one NHL team — the Pittsburgh Penguins — has more wins than the Leafs since Keefe was hired.
https://torontosun.com/sports/hockey/nh ... -the-leafs