Toronto Maple Leafs center William Nylander (88) celebrates his goal against the Montreal Canadiens with teammate center Auston Matthews (34) during the first period at Bell Centre.
Jean-Yves Ahern/USA TODAY Sports
NHL

What the Leafs can learn from the Avalanche and Lightning power plays

A rotten power play wasn't necessarily to blame for the Toronto Maple Leafs shocking first-round playoff exit, but it certainly didn't help matters, either. 

The Leafs converted on 20 percent of their power play opportunities in the regular season, the second-lowest rate of the 16 teams that qualified for the playoffs after the first round. Only the Nashville Predators were worse, converting 17.6 percent of chances. 

That isn't necessarily surprising; after all, the Leafs' power play had been on life support coming into the playoffs. Although the team managed to score three goals on the man-advantage in the first round, many fans grew frustrated. Why bother even giving the Leafs power plays?

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NHL Colorado Avalanche Tampa Bay Lightning Toronto Maple Leafs
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