Hall of Fame coach Scotty Bowman believes that the balance of the roster will be crucial to the Toronto Maple Leafs maintaining their recent run of improved play.

After struggling to maintain a consistent strong showing in the early going of the season, the Leafs entered a six-game road trip at a critical juncture of the year. Not only did they emerge from it with a winning record, but the majority of their wins were convincing ones against some playoff hopefuls and the reigning Stanley Cup winners.

Part of what has led to their turnaround of late is the fact that the roster has been mostly healthy, save for a few regulars out long-term. Having the roster closer to what they envisioned going into the campaign has seen them play more like the team many expected on the outset.

“The depth of the teams this year is going to be crucial with a fast game, so many injuries now, and a condensed schedule,” Bowman said during an appearance on Leafs Morning Take on Friday. “ There are teams that are gonna use their top guys quite a bit, as we know.  I don’t know if they’re gonna be able to do it even after the Olympics, but it’s quite a pace when you’re going six in 11 nights or four in six. A lot of back-to-backs.”

“ They’re playing a good game when they get the lead because they got energy.  I think that’s the biggest difference is they’re not just counting on [Auston] Matthews, [William] Nylander, and [John] Tavares to play a lot more minutes than they should.”

One of the biggest gripes that Leafs fans had during the Core Four era was the fact that a by-product of their cap structure meant their depth would not be as strong, and they therefore had to rely on the top guys to carry the load. While it was enough to get them through the regular season, it proved costly in the playoffs when the games got tighter and there weren’t enough quality options to carry the load when the Big Four went cold. By no means has it been perfect with the new additions at the start, but if enough of them can get rolling, then it will do good for the team as a whole.

It also helps that the Leafs’ play in their own end has shown signs of improvement of late, after their defensive play was a big part of why they struggled to start the year.

“ I find their defence is doing a better job. There’s not as much room for the opposing forwards to hang around the crease area there,” Bowman said. “ They’ve been getting these timely saves, but they’re not getting the glorious chances against. There were games where they were giving up breakaway after breakaway, and that’s not easy for a goalie.”

While there have been some improvements for the Leafs of late, there is still some work that needs to be done to ensure the good times keep rolling. The big area of concern, apart from Woll’s health status, is the struggles of the power play, who currently sit tied with the Carolina Hurricanes for last in goals for with 10. Head coach Craig Berube and assistant coach Marc Savard have tried just about everything, including reverting to the five-forward unit, and have yet to find a mix that has churned sustained success.

“You’ve gotta have that shot from the point that would result in a takeaway.  The puck doesn’t always have to go deflect it in, but your power play is often retrieval,” Bowman said. “ If you never take a shot, you’re gonna keep the puck. But are you gonna take the shot? You’re looking for the perfect shot, you’re looking for the backdoor play.”

“If you’re gonna have a tap in, you gotta have that system. You gotta have other passes around.  But I think maybe taking shots from the point if you can teach your players retrieval.”

You can watch the full interview with Scotty Bowman below: