First of all, we are the highest scoring team in the league. So, calling out our scoring, in any way, shape, or form, as a problem, is kind of odd. Our problem this season has mainly been goaltending & team defense, as well as injury troubles. So, citing scoring, and where it is or isn't coming from, as an issue, is strange.
A few things to consider though.
- Injuries: Currently our 1st & 3rd most productive defenders (Rielly & Muzzin) are out, and our 6th & 8th most productive forwards (Mikheyev & Johnsson). That has a hit on depth production.
- Relative Stats: Not a definitive measure of depth scoring, but only three teams (MTL, VAN, & PHI) have ten players with 0.5+ ppg, and only three teams (VGK, COL, & NSH) have nine players. Toronto also has nine players with 0.5+ ppg. That has us t-4th in the NHL.
- Overall Performances: These are where our players rank (among forwards with 15+ GP) in points-per-game.
First Line (1-93)
13. Matthews (1.16)
16. Marner (1.14)
33. Tavares (0.95)
47. Nylander (0.86)
70. Hyman (0.76)
Second Line (94-186)
132. Mikheyev (0.59) *injured
157. Kapanen (0.54)
179. Johnsson (0.49) *injured
Third Line (187-279)
202. Spezza (0.45)
205. Kerfoot (0.44)
Fourth Line (280-372)
296. Engvall (0.33)
321. Malgin (0.29)
340. Clifford (0.25)
Sub-Replacement (373+)
384. Gauthier (0.20)
398. Petan (0.19)
So we have 11 forwards producing at NHL levels of production, 13 when we are healthy. Looking at our lines, we've got this:
Hyman (3F) - Matthews (1F) - Marner (1F) --> Three first liners, two #1 forwards
Kerfoot (7F) - Tavares (2F) - Nylander (2F) --> Two upper-tier first liners, a high-end third liner
Clifford (11F) - Spezza (7F) - Kapanen (5F) --> Two second liners, a fourth liner
Engvall (10F) - Gauthier (13F) - Malgin (11F) --> Two legit fourth liners, a sub-optimal centre
Because our team is so good on the top-end, the contributions of the bottom end can feel underwhelming, but stacked up against the rest of the league, they are really doing a fine job, especially considering the roles they play, without much PP time, lack of TOI in general, and lack of productive offensive linemates.