from Damien Cox at the Toronto Star,

After about 20 per cent of the season — and who really knows how many NHL teams will actually play all 56 games? — the evidence suggests the seven teams in the all-Canadian division are more interested in shootouts than neutral-zone traps.

Heading into Friday’s games, four Canadian teams (Toronto, Montreal, Edmonton, Winnipeg) were among the top eight scoring teams in the 31-team league, and Vancouver was 12th. The top three scorers in the league — Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl of the Oilers, and the Leafs’ Mitch Marner — were in the North Division, as were the top four goal scorers — Montreal’s Tyler Toffoli, Vancouver’s Brock Boeser, Toronto’s Auston Matthews and McDavid.

The Leafs, with their league-leading power play, were averaging 3.64 goals per game, improved from last year, and they were more than a half-goal behind Montreal, which had the No. 1 offence in the NHL.

Now having the two worst defensive outfits in hockey — Vancouver and Ottawa — sure helps those offensive numbers. The seven best defensive teams in the NHL, meanwhile, were all American. Hope the fans there have been enjoying that.

read on