Loss vs. Pittsburgh Penguins Exposed the Leafs' Most Vulnerable Spot in the Lineup
The Toronto Maple Leafs have now lost two in a row and their main concerns were exposed against Pittsburgh in a big way.
With the Toronto Maple Leafs now losing their second straight game at the hands of the lowly Pittsburgh Penguins, it's starting to become a worry that the team isn't as strong as it looks.
Their biggest weakness has been the lack of production all season from their bottom six but it was even more evident against Pittsburgh. Combined, the bottom six ended up with one shot on goal the whole night, no points and no player having more than a handful of minutes.
Toronto's Bottom Six Has Hope For An Offensive Punch
Toronto is going to be getting some pieces back however they aren't necessarily sparking interest from fans. Max Domi and David Kampf aren't names that scream goal-scoring, and for Domi it's been months since he last lit the lamp.
The team has seemingly indicated they would like to move on from the Nick Robertson experiment, as his recent scratch and worsening play has led his head coach to completely remove him from the game for his sloppiness.
The lack of production isn't lost on his head coach either, as Berube was none too pleased with how his bottom six has fared this season and was blunt in his observations about them needing to be better:
For context, of the six players who skated for the Maple Leafs against Pittsburgh on the bottom portion, only Steven Lorentz and Fraser Minten have done anything of note offensively.
In the case of Minten it's been the only bright spot in a dark season for the bottom half of the lineup, and he's played eight games, most of the rest have 20+.
The Maple Leafs have to make a move somehow, and whether it's trading for a cheap third-line option to stop the bleeding or pull of a blockbuster trade in order to bring in an impact center who can push Toronto's offense and be a playoff contributor.
If the Maple Leafs continue down the road of minimal production, it's going to cost them not only in the regular season, as we've seen, but in the playoffs as well.
Their lack of offense is hurting them, and without a change, it's going to lose Toronto games; now and in April.
