Game 76 - Detroit 4, Leafs 2 - Toronto slumps to another defeat as playoffs seem out of reach

The Leafs played a fairly even game with the Red Wings, but some quick Detroit goals, three in five minutes, and an inability to catch up a deficit in the third period, continued a familiar story that saw their losing streak stretch to eight.

A solid opening period saw the Leafs take the lead through Franson, and have the chance lead as well, though narrowly. The second period actually saw the chances again go to the Leafs, 5-4 ES and 8-7 overall, but they fell behind on the scoreboard, giving up a shorthanded marker, along with a pair of other goals to fall behind.

This left the Leafs chasing again in the third, and they did a poor job of it, as they generated just three chances in the twenty minutes, and were comfortably outchanced by the Wings in the frame.

Detroit's strong third period ended up seeing them get the most of the chances, 14-13 at ES and 18-16 overall. Detroit also edged 5-on-5 close, 8-6.

A summary of the scoring chances:

Status	Overall		ES
Team	Toronto	Detroit	Toronto	Detroit
1	5	4	5	4
2	8	7	5	4
3	3	7	3	6
Total	16	18	13	14

Details below.

Game 75 - Philadelphia 4, Leafs 2 - Special teams see Toronto's losing streak stretch to seven

The Leafs again had a poor start, and while they did manage to get level in the game, they weren't able to avoid a seventh straight defeat. A fair bit of it was down to special teams, with Philadelphia producing a pair of powerplay goals and the Leafs unable to cash in with the man advantage.

Toronto generated only three chances in the first period, and gave up ten overall, six at even strength. This included a Flyer goal, coming right at the start of a 5-on-3. Toronto responded well in the second, getting level almost immediately, and getting the better of the first half of the period, before Philadelphia pulled back ahead with another powerplay goal.

The third was an even period, but Giroux got a critical goal to re-establish the two-goal lead, and while Bolland was able to pull one back for the Leafs, that was as close as they'd come, as they didn't manage a single chance in the last 13 minutes, with a goal from Wayne Simmonds sealing Philly's win.

A more even game than the last couple, with the Leafs losing out 10-14 at ES, though 14-21 overall, thanks to the Flyers' powerplay chances. The ES close chances also went to the Flyers, 9-6.

A summary of the scoring chances:

Status	Overall		ES
Team	Toronto	Philadelphia	Toronto	Philadelphia
1	3	10	3	6
2	5	4	3	3
3	6	7	4	5
Total	14	21	10	14

Details below.

Game 74 - St. Louis 5, Leafs 3 - Leafs almost manage to sneak out a result after another horrible start

The Leafs were badly outplayed in the first thirty minutes, and while they managed some decent play in the back half of the game, they were unable to overcome another poor start. The level of St. Louis' domination in that opening segment of the game was stunning, and the Blues should be disappointed that the result was in question during the third period.

A powerplay that saw Toronto go ahead was the only real positive in the first period, as St. Louis dominated play, seeming to keep the puck in the Leafs zone nearly constantly. The end result, with the Blues winning the ES chances 7-1, was probably flattering to the Leafs, and two late goals saw St. Louis pull ahead in the game as well. The trend continued in the second, the Leafs getting outchanced 5-1 at ES in the first 8 minutes, and falling further behin.

From then on, the Leafs recovered well, pulling even with the Blues in chances over the rest of the second, despite a fourth goal from former Leaf Alex Steen. The third saw Toronto win the overall chances in the period, and only narrowly lose on even strength, and some sloppy defensive play allowed the Leafs to get within one. However, they didn't generate a single chance once the lead was cut to one, and the Blues managed to hold on.

That terrible start saw the Blues dominate the ES chances, 21-10. The ES close chances are even uglier, with the Leafs outchanced 11-2 during that time.

A summary of the scoring chances:

Status	Overall		ES
Team	Toronto	St. Louis	Toronto	St. Louis
1	3	9	1	7
2	4	10	4	8
3	7	6	5	6
Total	14	25	10	21

Details below.

Game 73 - New Jersey 3, Leafs 2 - Toronto again unable to dig out of early hole

The longest losing streak in the Leafs' season has come at a terrible time, with the playoffs now a serious question. It was a similar story, with the Leafs fighting back after falling into an early hole, and some questionable goaltending giving them big trouble.

A miserable first period saw the Leafs generate very little, outchanced 5-0 at even strength, and outscored 1-0. Only a powerplay in the closing minutes gave any hope to Toronto in the period. A bad start to the second saw the end of James Reimer's night, as two goals in quick succession saw the Leafs fall behind 3-0, with Drew MacIntyre coming in.

After the Devils' third goal, Toronto started to show some fightback, getting one back quickly on the powerplay, and outchancing the home team 4-1 at ES for the remainder of the second.

The chase in the third was far from ideal, as the Leafs did manage to generate opportunities, but also gave up quite a few, outchanced 7-4 by the Devils at ES on the period. They were able to put some pressure on in the last five minutes, with 5 chances over that time, including three with the goalie out, and a second goal from Kessel that made the last minute a tense one. However, the gap was too large to overcome, and they fell short again.

New Jersey dominated the ES chances, 16-8, but empty net and powerplay chances saw the Leafs come closer overall, 19-17. ES close chances were not kind to the Leafs, as they were beaten 7-0. In particular, the struggling James Reimer was hung out to dry, with the Leafs not generating a single chance at ES in his 22 minutes.

A summary of the scoring chances:

Status	Overall		ES
Team	Toronto	New Jersey	Toronto	New Jersey
1	2	6	0	5
2	8	6	4	4
3	7	7	4	7
Total	17	19	8	16

Details below.

Game 72 - Montreal 4, Leafs 3 - Leafs fall into playoff jeopardy after another defeat

The Leafs' fourth loss in five games, coming against a team they were closely chasing only a week or so ago, leaves their playoff hopes in sudden jeopardy, and once again it's the goaltending that will draw a lot of the questions.

James Reimer's struggles saw the Leafs fall behind early, with Montreal getting two goals in just over a minute, neither great efforts from the Leafs goalie. Toronto actually won the chances during the period, 9-7, and fought back to draw level with a pair of goals of their own, but a goal in the last minute, deflecting in off a Leaf stick, left them down by one.

The pace of the game settled down after that, with the Leafs taking command of the chances. They dominated the second period, allowing Montreal only one late chance, but couldn't manufacture a goal, though they hit two posts. 

The third saw the Leafs get back level after an early powerplay, but a couple of late penalties made them pay, with Plekanec getting the winner just as one expired and a second killing any building momentum in the closing minutes. They weren't able to generate any chances in the last 4 minutes, and only two in the last 13, as they slumped to another defeat.

The Leafs won the chance battle, 19-10 at ES and 23-13 overall. They really dominated the close chances, 15-9, mostly thanks to that strong, if fruitless, second period.

A summary of the scoring chances:

Status	Overall		ES
Team	Toronto	Montreal	Toronto	Montreal
1	9	7	9	7
2	6	1	6	1
3	8	5	4	2
Total	23	13	19	10

Details below.

Game 71 - Tampa Bay 5, Leafs 3 - Shaky goaltending leads to third straight Leaf defeat

Toronto's sudden run of defeats has come at a poor time, with a playoff spot that seemed so secure days ago now looking more and more precarious. A home loss to Tampa was particularly worrisome, as the goaltending, which has been the Leafs' biggest strength all season, now seems a real point of vulnerability, with Bernier's injury and Reimer's struggles.

The first period was level in chances, with the Lightning edging the period, and leaving ahead 3-2, with the Leafs' early lead undone by a pair from Steven Stamkos. The Leafs were then totally overwhelmed at the start of the second, giving up seven of the next eight ES chances after the 5-minute penalty from the end of the first expired.

Down 4-2, there was some hope for the Leafs, as they finished the second strongly, at got off to a great start in the third, including cutting the lead to one through Gardiner. However, they generated just 3 ES chances the rest of the game, and gave up a back-breaker of a goal with 7 minutes to go. They did manage four chances with the goalie out, but they weren't able to cut the lead down from two.

That chase in the third period allowed the Leafs to pull just barely ahead in the ES chances, though the close chances were handily won by Tampa, 11-6.

A summary of the scoring chances:

Status	Overall		ES
Team	Toronto	Tampa Bay	Toronto	Tampa Bay
1	6	8	6	7
2	5	7	4	7
3	12	3	6	1
Total	23	18	16	15

Details below.

Game 70 - Detroit 3, Leafs 2 - Toronto lose second straight on the road

After a strong start to the Leafs' road adventure, with two wins in California, they finished with a couple of losses closer to home, with this one in Detroit seeing them fall behind after a bad opening period, and not be able to get back into it.

Toronto ended up having the same chance gap against Detroit as they did in Washington after one, down 5-2 at even strength. They were only down by one goal, though, in contrast to their start the other day. In the second, the Leafs were able to generate a good number of chances, despite allowing Detroit some powerplay opportunites, but couldn't take advantage, and entered the third still behind.

A miserable start to the third saw the Leafs give up the first five chances, including a second goal to Gustav Nyquist. They did wake up after that, Gardiner pulling one back, but a late goal from Alfredsson, as the Leafs pushed forward trying to generate an equalizer, was a killer.

Detroit won the first and third period, which was enough to see them claim the ES and overall chance victories. The Wings also won the 5-on-5 close chances, though that was much more even, 11-9 for Detroit.

A summary of the scoring chances:

Status	Overall		ES
Team	Toronto	Detroit	Toronto	Detroit
1	3	6	2	5
2	8	10	7	6
3	8	7	4	7
Total	19	23	13	18

Details below.

Game 69 - Washington 4, Leafs 2 - Leafs unable to recover from terrible start

The Leafs long road trip continued in Washington, where they did very well to control Alex Ovechkin, but after a poor start couldn't recover.

The Leafs were on the back foot from the beginning of the first, as they got into some serious penalty trouble, and fell behind by three in the first ten minutes. They were outchanced 8-2 overall, and 5-2 at ES. They did manage to get a critical goal from Troy Bodie in the closing minutes, to keep their chances alive.

The Leafs were much improved in the second period, but despite a goal from Dion Phaneuf, the team had a difficult time turning their zone time into scoring chances, until a powerplay shortly after the mdiway point. From then, Toronto outchanced Washington 6-1 overall in the last 10 minutes of the period, but couldn't find an equalizer.

Toronto weren't able to chase down the lead in the third, and really didn't mount much pressure in the last five minutes. They weren't able to outchance the Capitals in the closing frame, and a late penalty broke up a potential closing flurry.

Washington were able to outchance the Leafs at ES, not just in the poor Leafs opening period, but also the third, where, as mentioned, their chase was quite poor. The Leafs were able to outchance Washington 5-on-5 close, mostly due to their strong second period.

A summary of the scoring chances:

Status	Overall		ES
Team	Toronto	Washington	Toronto	Washington
1	2	8	2	5
2	7	1	4	1
3	4	9	4	6
Total	13	18	10	12

Details below.

Game 68 - Leafs 3, Los Angeles 2 - Solid performance seals winning California trip

A perfect response from the Leafs after their worst game of the season, as they played an even game with a strong LA team, and some great goaltending, from both Reimer and Bernier, and an opportunistic shorthanded goal, allowed them to leave California with four points.

LA's fast start, getting a goal and the first five chances, was worrisome after how poor the Leafs were in San Jose, but Toronto responded well, getting some solid chances on the powerplay, and coming back to be nearly level on the period at even strength as well. Kopitar pulled the home side ahead by two, but a critical powerplay goal from Phaneuf kept the lead to one.

The second period was also a close one, with the pattern going almost in reverse, as the start of the period was won by the Leafs, including getting an equalizing goal from Gunnarsson. After that, LA took charge, but Reimer was able to keep them at bay.

The third period started fairly cagily, but a spectacular sequence featuring a huge Reimer save and a shorthanded goal from Raymond at the other end saw the Leafs move into the lead. After that, the Kings were chasing the victory, and while they did manage a couple of chances with the net empty, they only managed three at ES in the fifteen minutes they were chasing, a fairly successful result for the Leafs.

The Leafs narrowly lost each period, but were close overall, losing 14-10. They also lost ES close, but it was a tight one as well, 11-8.

A summary of the scoring chances:

Status	Overall		ES
Team	Toronto	Los Angeles	Toronto	Los Angeles
1	10	6	4	5
2	6	9	5	6
3	2	7	1	3
Total	18	22	10	14

Details below.

Game 67 - San Jose 6, Leafs 2 - Toronto overwhelmed in second game of back-to-back

It's been a couple of months since the Leafs turned in one of these uninspired performances, as they were badly embarrassed on the second game of their California trip; it's likely that fatigue played an issue, as the back-to-back game after the long flight out is tough, but nevertheless this was one of the Leafs' worst games of the year.

An early exchange of goals may have given some hope that the Leafs could stay with the Sharks, but that didn't last long; Toronto had only one chance other than Gardiner's goal, while San Jose tallied 13. The second was little better, with the Leafs getting just one more chance, and San Jose getting seven, including two goals.

By the third period, the game was out of reach, but there was still no letdown from the Sharks, which had another dominant period, though at least the Leafs managed a little fightback in this one.

This was the worst game of the season for the Leafs in chances, the first time they failed to get more than 20% of the ES chances, an miserable -24 and a season-worst 32 ES chances against. The close chances are even worse, with the Leafs beat out 17-2.

A summary of the scoring chances:

Status	Overall		ES
Team	Toronto	San Jose	Toronto	San Jose
1	2	13	2	13
2	4	7	1	7
3	7	14	5	12
Total	13	34	8	32

Details below.

Game 66 - Leafs 3, Anaheim 1 - Bernier holds Leafs in it after solid start

The Leafs played a game that fits a style they've established this season, with Phil Kessel and the top line delivering an early lead in a close first period, before the team were completely overwhelmed, depending on Jonathan Bernier to bail them out. This time, it worked well, as this much-hyped road trip got off to a strong start.

A solid first period for Toronto, which had a fairly poor start, but really pressed in the last 3 minutes, getting a powerplay goal from Bozak and another score from Kessel in the final minute. They were outchanced, but only marginally.

The second was a wasteland for the Leafs, who have to thank Jonathan Bernier for getting out of the period still ahead. Paul Ranger added an early goal, Kessel again the provider, but the Ducks dominated the period, outchancing the Leafs 12-3, one of their worst periods in a long time.

Typically, the Leafs have been very poor defending leads in the third period, but that wasn't the case in this games,as they were outchanced, but for the most part managed to keep things from ballooning too badly, only losing out 5-2 at even strength. After a few chances in the first half of the period, Anaheim had a stretch of more than seven minutes in which they didn't get a chance, but when they did get four down the stretch, including a couple with an empty net, Bernier was there.

The Leafs were obliterated in chances, 22-9 at ES and 28-12 overall, but their 5-on-5 close chances were more reasonable, all coming in the first, which ended 6-4 to Anahiem.

A summary of the scoring chances:

Status	Overall		ES
Team	Toronto	Anaheim	Toronto	Anaheim
1	6	6	4	6
2	3	13	3	12
3	3	9	2	4
Total	12	28	9	22

Details below.

Game 65 - Leafs 4, Philadelphia 3 (OT) - Toronto's fourth line comes up strong to get another OT win

A very similar story to the game with the Rangers, as the Leafs stormed out to an early lead, only to give it up in the third period, not just once, but twice. However, they managed to survive to overtime, and scored on their lone chance, making it back to back wins, and four of five games since the Olympic break decided in the extra period.

The Leafs had their best first period of the season in this game, dominating the Flyers 9-2 at even strength, including two goals in the first five minutes that left Philadelphia reeling. The Flyers did manage to generate some chances on a powerplay, but Toronto were in command after one.

The two teams were pretty even in the second, with Toronto having the upper hand in the first half of the frame, but the Flyers responding strongly, getting seven of the last eight chances of the period, capping it with a goal from Kimmo Timonen to cut the lead to one.

While the Leafs managed to blow a pair of leads in the third, it was actually a pretty strong performance from them, relative to how things have gone in third periods this year, as they actually outchanced the Flyers, 5-3. However, a pair of Flyer goals, sandwiching a Mason Raymond marker, pushed the game to overtime, where Joffrey Lupul scored on the only chance.

Back to back wins in chances, as the Leafs dominated the game, winning ES chances 22-12, and close chances 7-1, thanks to their hot start.

A summary of the scoring chances:

Status	Overall		ES
Team	Toronto	Philadelphia	Toronto	Philadelphia
1	9	5	9	2
2	7	10	7	7
3	6	3	5	3
4	1	0	1	0
Total	23	18	22	12

Details below.

Game 64 - Leafs 3, NY Rangers 2 (OT) - Leafs survive another powerplay meltdown

The Leafs did their best to throw away a game they played quite well in, as a pair of shorthanded goals could have cost them a regulation victory, but managed to get a win in overtime to break their losing streak.

The two teams were even most of the way, finishing the first period level in chances, and, despite a large number of chances, scoreless. New York had an overall edge in the second, but left the period trailing, after Tyler Bozak converted on a penalty shot. The Rangers had several good chances to draw level, but in the second half of the period the Leafs seemed to have worked out a strong defensive game, holding the Rangers chanceless for the last nine minutes.

A goal from Kadri early in the third had the Leafs ahead by two, but another powerplay collapse, allowing two goals on one penalty for the second time in a week, suddenly drew the Rangers even. Both sides had chances to take the victory, with the Leafs winning chances 5-4 in the last 13 minutes of regulation. There was just one chance in overtime, but it was converted, Bozak's second giving the Leafs a win.

The Leafs won the ES chance battle, 22-19, their best performance since the end of the Olympics. Close chances had a similar margin, Toronto winning them 20-18.

A summary of the scoring chances:

Status	Overall		ES
Team	Toronto	NY Rangers	Toronto	NY Rangers
1	10	8	10	8
2	4	8	4	6
3	8	6	7	5
4	1	0	1	0
Total	23	22	22	19

Details below.

Game 63 - Columbus 2, Leafs 1 - Terrible second period leads to Leaf defeat

The Leafs were even with Columbus on chances in the first and the third, but were badly beaten in the second, and the two goals they surrendered were the difference for the Blue Jackets

It was a strong first period for the Leafs, despite a couple of lapses, as they took the chance lead thanks to a couple of powerplays, but weren't able to take advantage with a goal.

Halfway through the second, the game was still well within control for Toronto, but in the last 12 minutes they were outchanced 10-1, and Columbus picked up a pair of goals.

Toronto weren't able to dominate the game while chasing in the third, as they ended up even with Columbus, but they did manage 5 ES chances. However, after Raymond scored to cut the lead to one, they managed only a single chance, Bozak putting a shot wide with the Leaf net empty.

The Jackets' big second period led them to a dominant ES chance win, though the Leafs' effectiveness in getting chances, though no goal, on early powerplays made the overall closer. The close chances also went to Columbus, but narrowly, only 7-5; things only went south for the Leafs in the second once they were already down by two.

A summary of the scoring chances:

Status	Overall		ES
Team	Toronto	Columbus	Toronto	Columbus
1	8	4	4	4
2	2	10	2	10
3	6	5	5	5
Total	16	19	11	19

Details below.

3/4 point summary - Player data

Having already discussed the team stats, I'll move onto looking at the players.

First, forwards who have played at least 100 minutes minutes overall at even strength. This excludes 5 players (Devane, Leivo, Broll, Abbott and McKegg):

F/20, A/20 and N/20 are the even strength chance rates per 20 minutes ice time.

Overall	Pos	ESF	ESA	ESD	ES%	ESTOI	AvESTOI	F/20	A/20	N/20
D'Amigo	F	30	29	1	50.8%	130:01	06:50	4.6	4.5	0.2
Kessel	F	347	363	-16	48.9%	1057:55	17:03	6.6	6.9	-0.3
Van Riemsdyk	F	306	328	-22	48.3%	956:04	15:56	6.4	6.9	-0.5
Bozak	F	194	216	-22	47.3%	630:03	16:34	6.2	6.9	-0.7
Kulemin	F	153	172	-19	47.1%	683:40	13:40	4.5	5.0	-0.6
Kadri	F	254	287	-33	47.0%	876:40	15:06	5.8	6.5	-0.8
Bolland	F	41	47	-6	46.6%	202:59	13:31	4.0	4.6	-0.6
Clarkson	F	136	168	-32	44.7%	608:02	14:49	4.5	5.5	-1.1
Ashton	F	34	44	-10	43.6%	182:02	06:04	3.7	4.8	-1.1
Smith	F	51	67	-16	43.2%	257:14	09:53	4.0	5.2	-1.2
Raymond	F	210	291	-81	41.9%	880:14	14:11	4.8	6.6	-1.8
Orr	F	33	46	-13	41.8%	248:00	05:30	2.7	3.7	-1.0
Lupul	F	191	272	-81	41.3%	842:45	15:54	4.5	6.5	-1.9
McClement	F	133	191	-58	41.0%	734:58	12:02	3.6	5.2	-1.6
Bodie	F	41	59	-18	41.0%	205:02	07:35	4.0	5.8	-1.8
Holland	F	90	131	-41	40.7%	369:23	11:32	4.9	7.1	-2.2
McLaren	F	10	17	-7	37.0%	105:56	04:04	1.9	3.2	-1.3
Smithson	F	10	27	-17	27.0%	125:02	06:56	1.6	4.3	-2.7

Jerry D'Amigo definitely seemed to deserve another shot at the NHL, as he was very effective in his relatively limited time, the only Leaf who was on for more chances for than against. 

Nazem Kadri led this list at the halfway point, but has fallen behind the players on the big line, with Phil Kessel pulling up to lead the current roster in percentage and in chances overall. The big line is the worst defensive line, but is also on for farm more chances against than any other set of forwards; Kadri is almost as poor defensively, but generates almost a chance/20 minutes less than Kessel, and Raymond and Lupul generate two chances/20 fewer.

Nik Kulemin continues to impress, posting a differentialy almost as good as the top line players, and it certainly seems like any move to trade him, while keeping struggling chance players like Raymond and Lupul, would be a big mistake.

Joffrey Lupul has consistently been the most disappointing forward on the team, really struggling to generate chances, despite being moved around in the lineup; separating Kessel and JVR seems to be insane, but if one of those players could be effective without another, it might be worth it to jumpstart Lupul. 

The return of David Bolland will be an interesting point, as it's not clear what level of play he'll manage after his return from injury; if he can be around the 47% level he put together while healthy, it would be a big boost, reducing the ice time of players like Smith (43%), McClement (41%) and Holland (41%).

The big three have been the best offensive performers on the team, with Kadri the next best in terms of generating chances. Defensively, the best numbers belong to the low-event fourth liners, along with the injured Bolland; other than those players, the best is the aforementioned Kulemin.

I also put together some data on forward lines:

These have some pretty small sample sizes, but here's every line on for at least 20 total chances (unfortunately, I don't have icetime for these line combos).

Line	Total	For	Against	Ch%
Bozak-Kessel-Van Riemsdyk	164	146	18	52.9%
Kadri-Kessel-Van Riemsdyk	83	72	11	53.5%
Kadri-Lupul-Raymond	30	39	-9	43.5%
Kadri-Lupul-Kulemin	26	32	-6	44.8%
Holland-Lupul-Raymond	22	35	-13	38.6%
Kadri-Clarkson-Raymond	21	25	-4	45.7%
Kadri-Lupul-Clarkson	19	27	-8	41.3%
Holland-Kessel-Van Riemsdyk	17	26	-9	39.5%
Smith-Clarkson-Raymond	18	24	-6	42.9%
McClement-Clarkson-Kulemin	23	19	4	54.8%
Smith-Lupul-Clarkson	14	15	-1	48.3%
McClement-D'Amigo-Kulemin	17	9	8	65.4%
Holland-Bodie-Raymond	10	15	-5	40.0%
McClement-Raymond-Kulemin	13	11	2	54.2%
Bozak-Kessel-Raymond	8	14	-6	36.4%
Kadri-Kessel-Lupul	12	10	2	54.5%
Kadri-Lupul-Broll	7	13	-6	35.0%

Kessel and JVR are the key to the Leafs' two consistently effective lines, but Kulemin also has been useful with McClement, whether Clarkson, D'Amigo or Raymond has been the winger. Holland-Lupul-Raymond has beeen a really poor line, and Holland was much worse than Kadri with Kessel and JVR.

Next, the defense:

Overall	Pos	ESF	ESA	ESD	ES%	ESTOI	AvESTOI	F/20	A/20	N/20
Gunnarsson	D	266	281	-15	48.6%	1005:37	16:29	5.3	5.6	-0.3
Phaneuf	D	278	317	-39	46.7%	1072:45	17:52	5.2	5.9	-0.7
Gleason	D	74	86	-12	46.3%	314:52	16:34	4.7	5.5	-0.8
Rielly	D	214	265	-51	44.7%	832:38	15:42	5.1	6.4	-1.2
Ranger	D	146	186	-40	44.0%	625:08	16:01	4.7	6.0	-1.3
Gardiner	D	259	339	-80	43.3%	1086:35	18:06	4.8	6.2	-1.5
Fraser	D	57	75	-18	43.2%	241:31	12:42	4.7	6.2	-1.5
Franson	D	229	315	-86	42.1%	978:04	16:18	4.7	6.4	-1.8

Gunnarsson continued to be the top defenseman, but the addition of Gleason has been a clear positive, as he slots in close to Phaneuf in terms of performance. Reducing the burden on the likes of Franson and Ranger has an excellent result, and Gleason has been an excellent addition (for comparison, Liles was at 43.8% this season).

Cody Franson's poor season continues, as he remaines mired at the bottom of the team percentages, not generating much offense and having one of the worst defensive records as well. Rielly is on for as many chances, but is one of the better Leafs at generating chances. 
 

Pairing	Total	For	Against	Ch%
Phaneuf-Gunnarsson	193	205	-12	48.5%
Franson-Gardiner	100	125	-25	44.4%
Rielly-Gardiner	60	61	-1	49.6%
Ranger-Gardiner	50	62	-12	44.6%
Franson-Rielly	39	62	-23	38.6%
Ranger-Rielly	48	42	6	53.3%
Franson-Gleason	35	37	-2	48.6%
Fraser-Ranger	22	34	-12	39.3%
Phaneuf-Gardiner	19	27	-8	41.3%
Gleason-Rielly	19	26	-7	42.2%
Franson-Gunnarsson	21	16	5	56.8%
Phaneuf-Franson	14	22	-8	38.9%
Gunnarsson-Gardiner	18	15	3	54.5%
Fraser-Rielly	12	18	-6	40.0%

It's pretty clear that using Franson with Gleason has been vastly superior to using him with one of the rookie defensmen, who had been his primary partners to this point; The Leafs can now actualyl put together three solid ES defensive pairings in Phaneuf-Gunnarsson, Franson-Gleason and Rielly-Gardiner, as all three of these partnerships have been over 48% when on the ice. It's the likes of Franson/Gardiner and Franson/Rielly, along with Ranger/Gardiner, that have been troublesome.



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