The Toronto Maple Leafs haven't had the start they had hoped for and it comes down to their weakest trait thus far - the inability to break out.
Coming into Thursday's game against Vegas, there was some hope that the Maple Leafs could hang in with the powerhouse Golden Knights. They managed to start off hot with a 3-0 but let it slip away as Vegas came back and won in a shootout 4-3.
Mitch Marner credited Vegas' resilience, though the officiating certainly had something to do with how the game shifted after the first period. But there's something that the Maple Leafs failed to really capitalize on, and it could be due to their lack of time together.
Maple Leafs breakout was the worst part of their 3-0 collapse vs. Vegas
Alec Brownscombe of Maple Leafs Hot Stove pointed out that a big issue that contributed to Toronto's loss and has been an issue early on this season had to do with their lack of ability to get through the neutral zone:
Jim Hiller is coaching hard on mixing and matching his personnel and making situational adjustments to his lines, but the big piece he needs to sort out quickly is the consistency of the overall structure of their five-on-five play, starting with the breakouts.
They flash stretches of the fast-skating, structured game they're aiming for, but they're still too inconsistent and disconnected overall.
We've seen stretches of that fast-skating, where the Maple Leafs are able to catch up to opponents and shut them down, or manage to keep the puck alive for a scoring chance.
But at other times it's been one skate through the neutral zone, one pickpocket, and they are suddenly faced with a 2-on-1 or 3-on-1 situation - they have to get more comfortable and trust each other more.
You can't blame unfamiliarity for too much longer
At this point though, you can blame a bit of that inability to breakout on the fact that the team isn't exactly comfortable with each other just yet. But that only takes you so far before the blame starts to be placed somewhere, and if they don't pick it up soon - there are going to be questions.
The team needs to start trusting each other a little more and stop trying to do too much. Early on we've seen that several players are taking a little too much time in staying on the ice for the sake of helping out, as opposed to letting their teammates take over.
Case in point, Auston Matthews was on the ice for nearly two and a half minutes during OT against Vegas. While it's admirable for him to be out there, his effectiveness dwindles the longer he stays out there. The team had names like John Tavares, Easton Cowan, and Nick Paul all able to come in.
Yes there's a learning curve when you have nearly a dozen new faces come into a lineup, but they are going to have to get their act together soon or it's going to be a long season despite just starting.
Do you think the Maple Leafs are still going to make the playoffs?
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Mitch Marner takes a cheap shot at the Maple Leafs after shootout win