Toronto Maple Leafs: There's No Added Momentum After Fights
The Toronto Maple Leafs fighting majors are up this year, and they’ve got a pretty good record in games where they scrap.
The Toronto Maple Leafs sit at 6-3-2 in games where they fight – but that doesn’t tell the whole story in the perceived value of fighting, and the supposed momentum benefits the team reaps.
Let’s take a look at the eight games featuring fights where the Leafs got at least a point, because the three losses clearly didn’t involve scraps that helped anything.
October 12th VS Ottawa:
The time of the fight was 13:25 in the first period, when the score was 2-1 for Ottawa. Shortly after the fight, Auston Matthews scored and the Leafs never let go of possession. You might remember this game. It’s the one where some Leafs rookie scored four goals in his debut. Now, did he score four goals because of a fight halfway through the first period? I highly doubt it.
Verdict: Auston Matthews changed momentum, not Matt Martin’s fight.
October 15th VS Boston:
At 2:16 in the first period, Nazem Kadri and David Backes continued their hatred from the previous season and at 12:36 of the third Matt Martin reluctantly fought Zdeno Chara.
Toronto was already up 1-0 after the Kadri/Backes fight, and up 4-1 when Chara forced Martin to drop the gloves. Possession was back and forth all game until Boston pulled away a little over halfway through the game.
Verdict: Fights had no impact on the game.
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November 5th VS Vancouver:
At 6:42 in the third period, with the score 5-3 Leafs, Nazem Kadri laid out a hit that the Vancouver Canucks did not like one bit. The four fights in the game happened at the 6:42 mark and after. Remember this one? When Miller went after Martin because Martin tried to beat up a kid, and when Burrows went after Rielly because, well, it’s Burrows.
Verdict: Fights were irrelevant in the outcome of the game.
November 15th VS Nashville:
At 2:25 in the second period, Mike Fisher and Roman Polak went at it. The score was 2-1 for Toronto in a game that would finish 6-2.
Shot attempts at 5v5 after the fight were 33-28 in favor of Nashville, after being 27-22 in favor of Toronto prior to the scrap.
Verdict: Leafs were already winning, and possession battle was lost post-fight. Fight not cause of win.
November 26th VS Washington:
At 6:30 in the third period Matt Martin and Tom Wilson had their obligatory goon bout. The score was 3-0 for Toronto and finished 4-2 for the Leafs. Nothing more needs to be said on this scrap.
Verdict: Fight was irrelevant.
December 3rd VS Vancouver:
At 2:53 in the second period, Erik Gudbranson fought Matt Martin. It was the expected fight after Gudbranson took exception to Martin’s choice of fighting partner in the previous matchup between the two teams. You know, when Gudbranson threatened Martin’s life after the game?
The Leafs were down 2-0 when the fight took place and lost the game 3-2 in overtime. A quick look at the possession chart from the game tells you this was a game the Leafs should have won – but not because of the fight.
Toronto controlled possession for nearly the entire game – pre and post fight – and were beat by the Canucks goaltending.
Verdict: A dominant game, an unfortunate loss of a point. As close to a staged fight as you’ll get these days, also a non-factor in the overtime loss.
December 22nd VS Colorado:
At 2:46 in the second period, Matt Martin fought Cody McLeod. The Leafs were up 3-0 and won 6-0. I’m not wasting any more time on this one.
Verdict: Fight was irrelevant.
January 1st VS Detroit:
At 3:25 in the third period, Matt Martin and Steve Ott dropped the gloves. The score was 1-1.
This was the Centennial Classic game that featured several kids who were playing a professional game of pond hockey for 40 thousand people.
After the fight the Leafs scored three goals to go up 4-1, then allowed three goals to send the game to overtime before Auston Matthews did his best Sidney Crosby impression yet and won the game. Are we really going to believe that Mitch Marner, Connor Brown and Auston Matthews scored in the third period because Martin fought Ott? In a game where Toronto had the slight edge at evens almost entirely throughout?
Verdict: Fight was a non-factor.
Conclusion:
After going through the eight games where Toronto received at least a point, all signs point to the fights being nothing more than entertainment.
The Leafs record in games where they fight might be an impressive 6-3-2, but the value of those fights are significantly overrated and meaningless.
Already winning and already controlling the play were constants in most of the eight games. If you’re already playing good hockey, you probably already have the fictional momentum from the fight that happens later on.
