I bet you had Toronto pegged to get the highest SH% in the league back in January.
Toronto scores the most goals, but they don't have the most SF (Shots on Goal For). That's actually Minnesota. Toronto ended up with just slightly above league average goaltending, and Minnesota ended up below. That's not how the season started, though, as we all likely remember.
Minnesota has trouble scoring, and that's been their issue more than the merely okay goaltending.
Toronto and Montréal are the only teams that averaged more goals scored than they allowed. That's how tight the margins are in this league. Minnesota is very close, though. And for all they came fourth and have had a lot of losses lately, I'd rate them the tougher opponent than Boston.
If you look at power play opportunities for and against, you'll see that Toronto is almost even and Minnesota is dead even.
Natalie Spooner of course, but you know that. Toronto absolutely has a top-heavy scoring regime led by number 24 with 20 goals, tops in the league. Sarah Nurse has 11, Hannah Miller - truly the best surprise on the team - has seven, and there's a few here and there through the defence and the rest of the forwards. They have 16 goal-scorers in total but Spooner, Nurse and Emma Maltais account for the bulk of the points.
Miller is the most experience playoff performer on the team. She has 14 playoff games played in league hockey with KRS in the Russian league.
On Minnesota, the star by the goal stats is not Taylor Heise, who has two, but Grace Zumwinkle, who has 11. The team had 17 goal scorers in total, with the bulk coming from their top-six forwards, but they get a few here and there from everyone. Kendal Coyne is the most famous player on Minnesota, and she's been very good as have all of their top echelon of forwards.
Toronto is stronger in most areas than Minnesota, but they are a team very capable of matching Toronto's middle six with lines that can score. Minnesota, made up of a lot of Team USA players came back from Worlds on a downturn. The Team Canada infused Toronto team were flying high.
I don't think those Worlds emotions are going to bleed over into the playoffs, and we should all expect a tough fight. The goalies need to be good, but Toronto's extremely good PK should give them the special teams edge and then it's all down to who can control the puck more - something both teams are good at - and who has the scoring skill to put the puck in the net.
Go Toronto Go!
Toronto projected lineup
Forwards
Emma Maltais - Sarah Nurse - Brittany Howard
Hannah Miller - Blayre Turnbull - Natalie Spooner
Maggie Connors - Jesse Compher - Kaitlin Willoughby
Victoria Bach - Alexa Vasko - Rebecca Leslie
Samantha Cogan
Defense
Jocelyne Larocque - Renata Fast
Allie Munroe - Kali Flanagan
Lauriane Rougeau - Olivia Knowles
Goalies
Kristen Campbell
Erica Howe
Minnesota projected lineup
Forwards
Unknown
Defense
Unknown
Goalies
Unknown
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7 май 2024
