5 Stats That Should Make the Toronto Maple Leafs Worried Moving Forward

While the Toronto Maple Leafs have managed to look mediocre on some nights, even more often, the club has not looked good at all.

From the crease out, most of the Leafs have been underperforming early in the season.

It's too early to panic, but it is always challenging for organizations to make up for poor starts in the opening months once the drive to the playoffs heats up in March.

With this in mind, let's take a look at five stats that should have the Toronto Maple Leafs worried moving forward.

Shots Against

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Quite simply, the Maple Leafs are giving up too many shots in most games. The club is yielding almost 34 shots per game.

That average is not good. It leaves the team in 27th in the NHL.

If the Maple Leafs were an offensive juggernaut, it wouldn't matter as much, but they've been challenged to produce offensively on a regular basis.

The team has to cut down on the shots against or else it could be a long season for Leafs fans.

Power-Play Percentage

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The Leafs are not scoring a lot of goals so far this season, so scoring with the man advantage is even more imperative than for some teams.

The talent is there for the Leafs to have a good power play. Yet the team ranks in the bottom half of the league at just 16.1 percent.

Given the skill available, the Toronto power play should be operating at least five percentage points higher.

Keep an eye on this stat as an indicator of how well the team is playing in the weeks ahead. Staying at this percentage moving forward will not sit well with anyone in the Toronto organization.

Home Wins

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The Leafs have been awful at home this season. With just one win in the first five home games, fans have had little to cheer about when the team is in blue.

This team could have a huge advantage with better home performances, as Leafs fans can be some of the loudest and most encouraging in the NHL.

The Air Canada Centre faithful certainly have to qualify as among the most loyal given the team's dismal record in the past 20 years.

If the team can't turn things around at home moving forward, a playoff berth is not happening next spring.

Record Versus Atlantic Division

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The Leafs are winless against division foes. Yes, four games does not a season make, but this stat does not bode well moving forward.

With just three guaranteed playoff spots in the division, a losing record in the division makes it difficult to be a playoff team. 

Intradivisional games against the Florida Panthers and Buffalo Sabres are almost must-win games if the team hopes to crack the top three in the division. Going .500 against the rest of the division needs to be the minimum goal. 

It could be a long season otherwise.

5-on-5 Goals Against

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The Leafs have allowed 18 goals against during five-on-five play. That is only four less than the league's two worst teams in this statistical category, the Philadelphia Flyers and the Edmonton Oilers.

The entire club has to tighten up defensively at even strength. There is not enough offensive talent to allow the team to give up a lot of goals and be successful. 

Attention to detail by being on the right side of the puck in the defensive zone and a deeper commitment to strong two-way play on all four lines is a must.

Without some major improvements in defensive play, the Leafs will not be successful in 2014-15.

All stats can be found on NHL.com and are current heading into play on Tuesday, Oct. 28.