After a weekend in which the Maple Leafs scored just three goals across two games, it’s natural to question the state of Toronto’s offense.
Over the past eight seasons during the Auston Matthews era, the Leafs have been the top-scoring team in the NHL, and Matthews has been the league’s top goal-scorer. But as the 2024-25 season progresses, the Leafs find themselves in a surprising position: through the first four weeks of the season, 15 teams are averaging more goals per game than Toronto. Meanwhile, Matthews has scored only five goals, putting him behind 48 other players. After a career-high 69 goals last season, Matthews is currently on pace for just 31 this year.
Although Matthews has had slow starts before and is capable of turning it around with a scoring streak, a major issue has been the Leafs’ struggles on the power play. Last season, Matthews scored a career-best 18 power-play goals, but this year he’s managed just one. Worse still, that one power-play goal ties him with William Nylander for the team lead. With a dismal 10 percent success rate on the power play, the Leafs have scored only four power-play goals so far—better than just one other team, the Buffalo Sabres. The Leafs have had some tough luck, however, ranking fifth in expected goals per minute on the power play, though the actual goals have been scarce.
The Leafs’ first power-play goal in seven games came during Sunday’s 2-1 overtime loss to the Minnesota Wild. The most notable part of the goal was the use of a five-forward power-play unit, a departure from the usual four forwards and one defenseman setup. Nylander scored on a one-timer after a cross-seam pass from Matthews, and he seemed encouraged by the new approach. “I thought our power play was clicking there,” Nylander said. “So it felt good.”
The five-forward strategy didn’t work immediately. On Toronto’s first power-play opportunity of the game, the team used five forwards for the full two minutes but failed to score. Coach Craig Berube then switched to the second unit, which included two defensemen and three forwards, but after struggling to gain possession in the offensive zone, he quickly returned to the five-forward alignment. It wasn’t long before Nylander scored.
“We’ve talked about it for a bit and decided to go with it today,” Berube explained after the game, referring to the five-forward setup.
The Leafs have experimented with this five-forward power play before, notably under former coach Sheldon Keefe. Keefe used this strategy in part because of Mitch Marner’s unique skill set. Marner, an elite passer and 2023 Selke Trophy finalist, was also comfortable playing defense, having done so occasionally in his career. Keefe believed Marner’s confidence with the puck and his defensive abilities in the event of a turnover made the five-forward formation viable, although he didn’t see it as a long-term solution.
Despite Berube’s more cautious approach, the Leafs weren’t overreacting to one power-play goal, particularly considering they were playing against the NHL’s 30th-ranked penalty kill. Still, Berube highlighted an important takeaway from the power play: the team showed more urgency and shot the puck more. “If you look at that power play, we shot a lot of pucks and there was a little more directness, which is good,” Berube noted. “Then a seam opened up and we hit it.”
The Leafs registered six shots on goal during 3:10 of power-play time against the Wild, marking their highest shot rate on the power play this season. While it’s a fine balance between shooting too much and actually scoring, the team is hopeful that this new approach might lead to more consistent success.