In the recent era of Toronto Maple Leafs hockey, the team has a reputation for being a run-and-gun operation that wins with high-end offensive weapons and loses thanks to defensive lapses.
The validity of that reputation has varied over the years, but in the last couple of seasons the Maple Leafs have quietly become an effective defensive team, ranking as a top-10 shot-suppression squad in 2021-22 and 2022-23.
While Toronto has allowed a reasonable 29 shots per game early in the 2023-24 season, it has conceded at least four goals in each contest. Only two teams have allowed more goals than the Maple Leafs (13), while no one has scored more (14).