Why aren’t the Maple Leafs controlling the play enough at five-on-five? A deep dive into the lines, pairs, and systems

Auston Matthews, Matthew Kines, Chris Tanev, Maple LeafsAhead of last week’s game against the Vancouver Canucks, Max Pacioretty held an insightful media availability in which he touched on several topics surrounding the Maple Leafs’ current season.

One of Pacioretty’s quotes stood out when discussing the quality of the team’s recent play:

Pacioretty: “As a team, we would like to be playing better. Obviously, there were a lot of wins in there, but we weren’t too thrilled about the process every night when it came to those wins. That doesn’t mean that you sit here and nitpick.

“I know we just went on a little bit of a heater there in terms of the standings, but we do think that we have a lot in…