Toronto Maple Leafs: 5 Under-the-Radar Surprises so Far This Season

We're all aware of the fact that Phil Kessel and Joffrey Lupul are both on their way to shattering their career-high point totals.

However, a few things have happened in Toronto that have not been noticed or appreciated enough. These are all things that few, if anyone, could (or would), have predicted before the start of the season.

There have been a few nasty surprises (e.g. Kulemin's goal drought), but negativity's no fun.

Here are five pleasant, under-the-radar surprises for you to chew on.

Joey Crabb

I'll be honest: I used to think Joey Crabb was with the Leafs for the sole purpose of filling a roster spot. He seemed kind of like a Fredrik Sjostrom or a Philippe Dupuis—players who belong in the AHL.

Boy, was I wrong.

Crabb has eight goals and eight assists so far this season in 40 games played. He has impressed with his hard work, decent skating and puck handling, physical play and (surprise!) his scoring touch.

He has played more minutes than a fourth liner would otherwise be accustomed to, but credit him for earning those extra minutes.

On the right team and with the right linemates, could Crabb be a 20-goal scorer?

Bozak and Kessel's Plus-Minus

Phil Kessel was a minus-20 last season.

Tyler Bozak was a minus-29.

In my very first article for B/R in August 2011, I predicted that both of them would be in the plus column this season.

So far, I look like a total genius.

Kessel is even while Bozak is a plus-three. Things could easily go the other way, but I'm sticking with the "I'm a genius" theory.

For further proof of the validity of this theory, be sure to check out the other predictions in that slideshow (ignoring the ones that have next to zero chance of happening).

Decent Record Against Good Teams

If we pretend the Boston Bruins don't exist, the Leafs have been pretty good against some of the top teams in the league this season.

The Leafs are:

• 2-1-0 against the New York Rangers
• 2-0-1 against the Pittsburgh Penguins
• 1-0-1 against the New Jersey Devils
• 1-1-0 against the Washington Capitals

Let's also not forget victories over the St. Louis Blues (shortly after Ken Hitchcock was hired as head coach), and the Detroit Red Wings.

Unfortunately, the Leafs are pretty bad against divisional rivals.

Fortunately, the Montreal Canadiens and the Buffalo Sabres are just plain bad.

Teams like the Capitals, Penguins, Devils and Rangers are the ones the Leafs need to get used to beating if they want to be taken more seriously around the league.

Team Plus-Minus

The Leafs have scored 156 goals and have let in 152. That gives them a plus-four rating.

The surprising part? Their plus-four rating is fifth best in the Eastern Conference.

As a Leaf fan, this is uncharted territory; I'm not entirely sure how to feel about this. Shocked and happy, I guess?

Perfect PK in January

The Leafs played 12 games in January and were shorthanded only 17 times. They killed off all 17 penalties.

They still own the league-worst PK unit, but going a calendar month without letting in a goal on the PK is impressive.

According to Jonas Siegel of TSN, this year's Leafs are the first team in the NHL to go an entire month without letting in a goal while shorthanded since the 1974 Chicago Blackhawks (minimum 10 games).

Discipline clearly had a role in the Leafs' January PK perfection; there were three games that month where they never went shorthanded and five games where they were shorthanded only once.

One game into February, and the Leafs are still perfect on the PK in 2012.

Has any team ever done two months in a row?