Leafs’ fourth-line forward Ben Smith often does his best work outside the glare of the spotlight.

For the Leafs, that spotlight has been very bright of late, with the team winning six of its last eight games and gaining momentum from rookies Mitch Marner, Auston Matthews, Connor Brown, Zach Hyman, William Nylander and others.

Smith’s lot in Leafland is less glamorous. He’s not supposed to let the other team score when he’s on the ice with linemates Matt Martin and Nikita Soshnikov. If they succeed, that’s a good game.

But Smith was claimed off waivers from the Colorado Avalanche in late October for a more specific reason: to win faceoffs. Since then, the centre from Winston-Salem, N.C., has quietly helped the Leafs crack the top 10 in the NHL in faceoff wins at even strength.

The penalty kill is another matter. Heading into a much anticipated Saturday night matchup with the Canadiens in Montreal, the Leafs were tied for 16th in faceoff success while a man short at just 44 per cent. While their penalty killing as a whole ranks a respectable ninth at 84.6 per cent, losing faceoffs has contributed to a dramatic disparity when it comes to overall shot differential.

Heading into Friday, the Leafs had the second-most shot attempts with 851 (four behind the league-leading Flyers in that category) but had allowed the most at 843. Goalie Frederik Andersen has faced the most shots in the NHL (494).

In short, the Leafs could use more faceoff work like Smith’s. He has won 29 of 55 draws when Toronto’s a man down, good for 52.7 per cent — third-best in the league. That success stands out even more on a team that ranks 28th (44 per cent) in defensive-zone faceoffs. They fare much better in the offensive zone (57.4 per cent) and neutral zone (54.9 per cent, second in the NHL), but losing draws in the own end could wear Andersen out as the season goes on.

Improved faceoff performance — an area where veteran Tyler Bozak has led the way in recent years — is an important factor in the team’s goal of becoming a better puck possession team. The results in that are have been impressive so far, with the Leafs above 50 per cent in Corsi — which measures shot differential — and among the best in shots and shot attempts.

On the faceoff dot, Bozak — the longest-serving Leafs at 452 games — ranks sixth overall in the NHL (60 per cent). Smith has chipped in at a 64 per cent clip in the offensive zone while drawing half as much ice time as Bozak. The fact that Smith also ranks above Bozak on defensive zone faceoffs has put him in coach Mike Babcock’s good books.

Faceoff success rates

Tyler Bozak: 60 per cent

Ben Smith: 52.6

Auston Matthews: 50

Leo Komarov: 50

Peter Holland: 46.4

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Nazem Kadri: 45.1

William Nylander: 42.4

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