<p>As a hyper-obsessed market, there&#8217;s a tendency to delve into criticism, even when things are going well for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Toronto is currently on a five-game winning streak, after stealing a 3-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers.</p>
<p>Auston Matthews&#8217; return to the lineup elevates the Maple Leafs by a tier or two, as a legitimate contender, and we wanted to take a look into some numbers that help explain the team&#8217;s recent hot streak.</p>
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<p><em>All stats from NHL.com and Natural Stat Trick, current prior to Thursday&#8217;s games</em></p>
<h3>Knies-Matthews-Marner combine for 22 points in all situations</h3>
<p>Auston Matthews looks like the world&#8217;s best goal-scorer since returning to the lineup on Saturday against the Boston Bruins and it has facilitated the best stretch of Matthew Knies&#8217; career. Knies exploded for a five-point night against the Bruins, scoring his first career-hat trick, which overshadowed Matthews&#8217; excellent showing as well. Marner continues to operate as Toronto&#8217;s MVP during this stretch, creating 2.29 individual expected goals during that span, while Toronto boasts a plus-10 goal differential (12-2) when he&#8217;s on the ice.</p>
<p>Toronto&#8217;s top line has combined for 22 points in all situations over the past five games and have a strong case to be considered as the best scoring trio in the NHL, at least for the moment. Knies is playing like a bonafide power forward with 15 hits, while the Maple Leafs control 63.5 percent of the expected goals when he&#8217;s been on the ice during the winning streak, while posting a plus-nine (10-1) goal differential. Matthews will need to be load managed, and Toronto can designate some rest days for their superstar centre down the line, but he&#8217;s crushing opponents in all facets of the game, and it&#8217;s the primary reason why the Maple Leafs are unbeaten through the new year.</p>
<h3>21 hits (and one fight!) from Connor Dewar</h3>
<p>Connor Dewar has come alive since December 21, and he&#8217;s cementing himself as a <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/connor-dewar-cementing-himself-maple-leafs-fourth-line">key fixture of the fourth line</a>. Dewar fought Joel Farabee on Tuesday and it seemed to inspire the Maple Leafs, after an anemic first period against the Philadelphia Flyers.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Joel Farabee and Connor Dewar fire up the Philly crowd with a fight to start off the night 🥊 <a href="https://t.co/OhyRjDsViC">pic.twitter.com/OhyRjDsViC</a></p>
<p>&mdash; B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) <a href="https://twitter.com/BR_OpenIce/status/1876794292003385352?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 8, 2025</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>&#8220;I think he’s an extremely high-IQ player,&#8221; Matthews said of Dewar after Tuesday&#8217;s 3-2 win. &#8220;I think he does all the little things really well. He may not be the biggest or fastest guy on the ice but I think he’s extremely effective when he’s out there. For a guy like him to try and set the tone for us in the first period, that’s huge and doesn’t go unnoticed.&#8221;</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Connor Dewar has recorded 11 shots and 11 hits over the last three games. Berube on Dewar&#39;s uptick:</p>
<p>&quot;He&#39;s been a good player for us. He&#39;s had a lot of opportunities to score, which is great and getting chances. They&#39;ll go in eventually. He&#39;s got to keep doing what he&#39;s doing.&quot;</p>
<p>&mdash; Arun Srinivasan (@Arunthings) <a href="https://twitter.com/Arunthings/status/1874131818217431317?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 31, 2024</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>Toronto is admittedly losing the shot differential and expected goals when Dewar is on the ice, although that&#8217;s often the function of playing on a fourth line that rarely starts in the offensive zone. Dewar has two assists during his past five games and he&#8217;s found a role as a high-energy physical centre that can operate a solid penalty-killer. The next and final step is to turn his newfound rambunctiousness into some actual goals, but hitting everyone in sight is a key development that will endear him to head coach Craig Berube.</p>
<h3>14 blocked shots from Chris Tanev</h3>
<p>Tanev is Toronto&#8217;s most important defenceman and he&#8217;s become even more valuable, with Jake McCabe out of the lineup through January 12 at the minimum, after suffering an upper-body injury Sunday against the Flyers. He is the NHL&#8217;s best shot blocker, and has recorded 14 blocks during the winning streak, including a point-blank stop on Bruins star David Pastrnak in the clutch on Saturday.</p>
<p>The 35-year-old is Toronto&#8217;s lead penalty killer along with Marner, he&#8217;s making clever outlet passes to the forwards, although he&#8217;s primarily known as a defensive-minded presence, and he&#8217;s sporting a plus-three goal differential while the Leafs control 58.3 percent of the expected goals when he&#8217;s on the ice in all situations. Tanev can do it all and he&#8217;s the bonafide No. 1 lockdown defenceman previous iterations of the Maple Leafs were craving. It will be compelling to see how Tanev looks with Morgan Rielly on Thursday against the Carolina Hurricanes, as the pairing showed encouraging returns during the initial part of the season, before being split up to create some balance among the blue line.</p>
<h3>5 rebound attempts created by Oliver Ekman-Larsson</h3>
<p>Toronto&#8217;s defencemen have combined for 10 goals this season, tied for the second-fewest among any blue line corps in the NHL. It was a major talking point as the Maple Leafs have struggled to generate consistent, secondary scoring. Jake McCabe broke the drought on Saturday against the Bruins, and both McCabe, Rielly, and Ekman-Larsson told reporters that the Maple Leafs&#8217; blue liners have never discussed it as a real issue.</p>
<p>Ekman-Larsson is doing his all to reinvigorate some secondary scoring, getting a key goal in the win against the Flyers on Sunday. He&#8217;s generated five rebounds and 1.12 individual expected goals during the winning streak, while the Leafs hold a plus-three goal differential when he&#8217;s been on the ice. It&#8217;s a start for the Maple Leafs&#8217; defence corps — who have been excellent, for the most part, as a unit in preventing chances — and some key offensive contributions from the blue line will go a long way in elevating the team&#8217;s true ceiling.</p>
<h3>28 high-danger saves for Joseph Woll</h3>
<p>Woll has won his past five starts and he&#8217;s been in tremendous form as Toronto&#8217;s unquestioned starter, with Anthony Stolarz still recovering from injury. The 26-year-old has posted a 14-6-2 record with a .915 save percentage and 2.46 goals against average this season. During the winning streak, Woll has recorded a .937 save percentage. Woll and Bobby McMann singlehandedly stole a 2-1 win over the New York Islanders on January 2, as the Maple Leafs&#8217; goaltending continues to function at an elite level.</p>
<p>Although Woll was expected to work in tandem with Stolarz throughout the season, he&#8217;s proving capable of playing like a true No. 1. Toronto will have to find a way to manage his workload, as Dennis Hildeby is a true No. 3 in the NHL thus far, while Matt Murray can only be used in spot duty. Woll is masking some of the Maple Leafs&#8217; flaws, particularly off the rush, and he&#8217;s been paramount to the team&#8217;s success.</p>
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As a hyper-obsessed market, there's a tendency to delve into criticism, even when things are going well for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Toronto is currently on a five-game winning streak, after stealing a 3-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers.

Auston Matthews' return to the lineup elevates the Maple Leafs by a tier or two, as a legitimate contender, and we wanted to take a look into some numbers that help explain the team's recent hot streak.
<div class="bam-inline-promotion-block" data-max-length="2" data-placement-id="2106" data-context="web-content-promocard" data-property-id="324"></div>
<em>All stats from NHL.com and Natural Stat Trick, current prior to Thursday's games</em>
<h3>Knies-Matthews-Marner combine for 22 points in all situations</h3>
Auston Matthews looks like the world's best goal-scorer since returning to the lineup on Saturday against the Boston Bruins and it has facilitated the best stretch of Matthew Knies' career. Knies exploded for a five-point night against the Bruins, scoring his first career-hat trick, which overshadowed Matthews' excellent showing as well. Marner continues to operate as Toronto's MVP during this stretch, creating 2.29 individual expected goals during that span, while Toronto boasts a plus-10 goal differential (12-2) when he's on the ice.

Toronto's top line has combined for 22 points in all situations over the past five games and have a strong case to be considered as the best scoring trio in the NHL, at least for the moment. Knies is playing like a bonafide power forward with 15 hits, while the Maple Leafs control 63.5 percent of the expected goals when he's been on the ice during the winning streak, while posting a plus-nine (10-1) goal differential. Matthews will need to be load managed, and Toronto can designate some rest days for their superstar centre down the line, but he's crushing opponents in all facets of the game, and it's the primary reason why the Maple Leafs are unbeaten through the new year.
<h3>21 hits (and one fight!) from Connor Dewar</h3>
Connor Dewar has come alive since December 21, and he's cementing himself as a <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/connor-dewar-cementing-himself-maple-leafs-fourth-line">key fixture of the fourth line</a>. Dewar fought Joel Farabee on Tuesday and it seemed to inspire the Maple Leafs, after an anemic first period against the Philadelphia Flyers.

https://twitter.com/BR_OpenIce/status/1876794292003385352?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1876794292003385352%7Ctwgr%5Ed2ecac7b39a11591810274a5b7ea7e042697f3a6%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftheleafsnation.com%2Fnews%2Fconnor-dewar-cementing-himself-maple-leafs-fourth-line

"I think he’s an extremely high-IQ player," Matthews said of Dewar after Tuesday's 3-2 win. "I think he does all the little things really well. He may not be the biggest or fastest guy on the ice but I think he’s extremely effective when he’s out there. For a guy like him to try and set the tone for us in the first period, that’s huge and doesn’t go unnoticed."

https://twitter.com/Arunthings/status/1874131818217431317

Toronto is admittedly losing the shot differential and expected goals when Dewar is on the ice, although that's often the function of playing on a fourth line that rarely starts in the offensive zone. Dewar has two assists during his past five games and he's found a role as a high-energy physical centre that can operate a solid penalty-killer. The next and final step is to turn his newfound rambunctiousness into some actual goals, but hitting everyone in sight is a key development that will endear him to head coach Craig Berube.
<h3>14 blocked shots from Chris Tanev</h3>
Tanev is Toronto's most important defenceman and he's become even more valuable, with Jake McCabe out of the lineup through January 12 at the minimum, after suffering an upper-body injury Sunday against the Flyers. He is the NHL's best shot blocker, and has recorded 14 blocks during the winning streak, including a point-blank stop on Bruins star David Pastrnak in the clutch on Saturday.

The 35-year-old is Toronto's lead penalty killer along with Marner, he's making clever outlet passes to the forwards, although he's primarily known as a defensive-minded presence, and he's sporting a plus-three goal differential while the Leafs control 58.3 percent of the expected goals when he's on the ice in all situations. Tanev can do it all and he's the bonafide No. 1 lockdown defenceman previous iterations of the Maple Leafs were craving. It will be compelling to see how Tanev looks with Morgan Rielly on Thursday against the Carolina Hurricanes, as the pairing showed encouraging returns during the initial part of the season, before being split up to create some balance among the blue line.
<h3>5 rebound attempts created by Oliver Ekman-Larsson</h3>
Toronto's defencemen have combined for 10 goals this season, tied for the second-fewest among any blue line corps in the NHL. It was a major talking point as the Maple Leafs have struggled to generate consistent, secondary scoring. Jake McCabe broke the drought on Saturday against the Bruins, and both McCabe, Rielly, and Ekman-Larsson told reporters that the Maple Leafs' blue liners have never discussed it as a real issue.

Ekman-Larsson is doing his all to reinvigorate some secondary scoring, getting a key goal in the win against the Flyers on Sunday. He's generated five rebounds and 1.12 individual expected goals during the winning streak, while the Leafs hold a plus-three goal differential when he's been on the ice. It's a start for the Maple Leafs' defence corps — who have been excellent, for the most part, as a unit in preventing chances — and some key offensive contributions from the blue line will go a long way in elevating the team's true ceiling.
<h3>28 high-danger saves for Joseph Woll</h3>
Woll has won his past five starts and he's been in tremendous form as Toronto's unquestioned starter, with Anthony Stolarz still recovering from injury. The 26-year-old has posted a 14-6-2 record with a .915 save percentage and 2.46 goals against average this season. During the winning streak, Woll has recorded a .937 save percentage. Woll and Bobby McMann singlehandedly stole a 2-1 win over the New York Islanders on January 2, as the Maple Leafs' goaltending continues to function at an elite level.

Although Woll was expected to work in tandem with Stolarz throughout the season, he's proving capable of playing like a true No. 1. Toronto will have to find a way to manage his workload, as Dennis Hildeby is a true No. 3 in the NHL thus far, while Matt Murray can only be used in spot duty. Woll is masking some of the Maple Leafs' flaws, particularly off the rush, and he's been paramount to the team's success.
<h3>Sponsored by bet365</h3>
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