Keefe had his speciality teams set when Lyubushkin played for Toronto in the previous season. Lyubushkin was therefore not deployed in the penalty kill. He did, however, get a lot of action on the penalty kill against the Ducks, Buffalo Sabres, and Arizona Coyotes. Lyubushkin is a good fit for the part. This time, if the Maple Leafs are devoid of players, he might have a bigger role.
Even if Brad Treliving, the general manager (GM), might not have picked Lyubushkin initially, his acquisition is not unimportant. As the Maple Leafs attempt to make a deep playoff run, he might be a major player.
[Note: I would want to express my gratitude to Stan Smith, a devoted Maple Leafs fan, for working with me on this post. Stan’s Facebook page
Lyubushkin and Morgan Rielly were one of the Maple Leafs’ top four defensive core pairings during the 2022 postseason, but their performance was mediocre. Natural Stat Trick at 5-on-5 indicates that Lyubushkin was on the ice for 17 high-danger chances for and 15 high-danger chances against in Toronto’s seven-game loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. That is a success percentage of 53%.
He did, however, also skate for three goals against his side and four goals for the Maple Leafs, for a mere 42 percent of the game. Furthermore, his predicted goals share was 46%. (Anything that is positive exceeds 50%, and anything that is negative is less than 50%).
Rielly’s stats were marginally better at 5-on-5, with a 50% goals for
