Biggest Takeaways for the Toronto Maple Leafs After Home-and-Home with Detroit

Fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Detroit Red Wings were treated to some hard-hitting, high-speed hockey over the weekend. While Friday night's game wasn't really close, the Saturday night game in Detroit was great.

Both teams were well represented by their fans. Joe Louis Arena was rocking all night. Despite the 1-0 score, both teams created scoring chances throughout. 

The NHL would do well to schedule more of these home-and-home affairs as the intensity increases for players, fans and coaches.

Let's take a look at the biggest Maple Leafs takeaways from the weekend set.

5. The Leafs Need a Shutdown Defence Pairing

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Henrik Zetterberg was an offensive dynamo against the Leafs, especially on Friday night. Zetterberg had three primary assists and added another second assist for good measure in the 4-1 Detroit win.

None of the Leafs played very well defensively in that first game; however, no one could really handle Zetterberg and the top Red Wings.

Carl Gunnarsson and captain Dion Phaneuf were the usual shutdown duo for the Leafs last season; while Phaneuf remains a Maple Leaf, Gunnarsson is now a member of the St. Louis Blues.

The club needs to find the equivalent for 2014-15 in short order. 

4. Jonathan Bernier Is Back

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While James Reimer wasn't the reason the Leafs lost Friday night, he was not great in giving up four goals on 35 shots. 

Jonathan Bernier was excellent in the Saturday tilt. Don't be surprised to see him return to last season's high level of play now.

It's clear that the club needs both goaltenders and is well served by having both of them in the fold.

Bernier finally has his save percentage over .900, at .906. It's well below last year's great percentage of .923. Expect that gap to shrink even further as Bernier regains his form.

3. The Leafs' Power Play Was Not Good

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The Toronto power play has been quite good in 2014-15. It was much less than that against the Red Wings.

Granted, the Red Wings have been exceptional on the penalty kill. Detroit, along with the Columbus Blue Jackets, has not given up a power-play marker this season.

The Leafs are 13th in the NHL at 20.8 percent with the man advantage.

While it may not have helped a lot on Friday night, one goal in five chances in regulation on Saturday would have meant a win.

2. David Clarkson Looked Very Good

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Arguably, David Clarkson was the best Leaf over the two games. Clarkson was a physical force in the offensive zone and made life miserable for the Wings defence on an ongoing basis.

Clarkson is on the cusp of getting top-six minutes. He's averaging 15:11 minutes after six games. 

He's also getting some meaningful power-play time as the club attempts to get traffic in front while generating shots from the high slot or the tops of the circles.

If Clarkson keeps his feet moving, and can chip in with a few points, don't be surprised to see him getting top-six minutes in the weeks ahead.

A revitalized Clarkson will be great news for the organization. The club needs four lines contributing in hopes of having a successful season.

1. Phil Kessel Wasn't Great When He Needed to Be

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While Swedish star Henrik Zetterberg was the Red Wings' best player in the two contests, Phil Kessel was not great. 

Kessel generated five shots in the two games, but just one of those came on Friday night. Quite simply, that is nowhere near good enough by the talented American on home ice.

At the very least, the Leafs must keep pace with some of the Eastern Conference's lesser lights. Detroit is one such team. They are not the dominant team they once were and the Leafs will be battling them for a playoff spot all season.

Kessel, along with linemates James van Riemsdyk and Tyler Bozak have to be the team's best players in big games. Kessel must lead the team offensively in such games.

He failed to do so against Detroit.

All stats can be found on NHL.com.