The Leafs Can't Win in the Shootout

If the Toronto Maple Leafs miss the postseason once again in 2017, they can, and should, blame it on their ineptitude in the much-maligned shootout.

The New York Rangers handed Toronto yet another shootout loss on Thursday, dropping its record to 1-7 on the season when 3-on-3 overtime solves nothing. The Maple Leafs' winning percentage of .125 is the worst among teams with at least two shootout decisions this season, while their seven losses is two more than any other club in the league.

You don't win shootouts if you can't stop breakaways, and that lack of 1-on-1 shutdown execution from goaltender Frederik Andersen has been at the forefront of the Leafs' struggles in the tiebreaker. While facing the fourth most attempts league-wide this season, the Maple Leafs' No. 1 goalie has stopped only 10 of 20, and his .500 save percentage in the shootout is tied for sixth worst among qualified NHL goaltenders. It's been a consistent story for Andersen throughout his young career, as the .500 shootout save percentage he posted last season and .656 mark he posted in 2014-15 ranked 52nd and 46th, respectively, among NHL netminders.

Aside from stopping pucks at one end, putting them in at the other end is just as crucial. As has been the story for the majority of the season, Toronto has been led offensively by the potent production of its rookies, namely Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner. Both have taken seven attempts this season and, though they have carried the bulk of shootout scoring for the team, each is shooting under 43 percent— 28.6 for Matthews and 42.9 for Marner.

The kids, who have generally been taking the first two attempts of each shootout, have not been the problem, as they've scored 100 percent of Maple Leafs shootout goals this season. Trying to find that guy who can close it out on the third shot, assuming it gets that far, has been near impossible for head coach Mike Babcock so far. Six players—Tyler Bozak, William Nylander, James Van Riemsdyk, Nazem Kadri, Nikita Soshnikov, Seth Griffith—other than Matthews and Marner have attempted shots in the shootout this season, scoring at a torrid clip of exactly zero percent, going a combined 0-for-12.

In a tight playoff race, especially in the Atlantic Division, every single point is critical. Last season, despite finishing 30th in the NHL's standings in a year it was doing its best to tank, Toronto went a respectable 6-for-12 in the shootout. Currently sitting at 68 points, the Maple Leafs are just four back of the Canadiens for first in the Atlantic. If their record in shootouts was at least on par with last season, the team would be at 71 points and sitting just one back of Montreal for top spot.

As only six points separate first place in the Atlantic and those on the outside of the playoff picture looking in, every shootout point lost could be the make-or-break difference between skating and golfing come playoff time.