Young Maple Leafs maturing their way to the NHL elite

The Toronto Maple Leafs certainly didn't waste time welcoming Auston Matthews back from an upper-body injury. They rang in the occasion by slaughtering the Montreal Canadiens 6-0, ending a what was a 14-game losing streak to the rival Habs. Matthews lit the lamp twice in the goal-scoring frenzy, amazing his teammates in the process.

Even while the superstar was sidelined, the Leafs continued putting check marks in the win column. (Well, until that recent 4-1 loss to the lowly Arizona Coyotes.) Toronto's six-game winning streak showed that last season's ragtag contingent of newbies is legitimately pretty darn good this time around — so good, even, that they are within striking distance of the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Atlantic, and the Bolts are the unquestionable best in the league right now.

One can make the argument that the team has matured since last season. Even with the addition of veteran Patrick Marleau in the offseason, the bulk of last year's squad is still intact. Unlike the lucky young bucks of yesteryear, however, this Toronto team is scoring as many goals as the big, bad Bolts — who are a more seasoned product — and has a special teams unit that is clicking. Add to it that Frederik Andersen has been better in net, and you easily have a Leafs team that visibly appears to have grown up.

Of course, coach Mike Babcock points out that Matthews, Mitch Marner and the rest of the sophomore class are still a pack of young guns.

“They’re (still) kids, trying to learn how to get better, trying to learn how to play,” Babcock told the Toronto Sun.

That sounds like a downer until you see Babcock's words proved prophetic in the loss to Arizona. The contest against the Coyotes was a classic trap game, and Toronto let Arizona snap its six-game winning streak.

How the Leafs respond is yet to be seen, but what can make this incarnation of the Leafs better is how they look at improving themselves. Matthews, Marner and company have grown their repertoire in the 100 tilts they've played in the league and have to approach losses like a team that expects excellence. Take a look at young winger Connor Brown, whom Babcock has complimented for having the mental wherewithal to avoid the dreaded sophomore slump. When asked how Brown feels about being moved up and down the lineup, Toronto's bench boss told SportsNet: "The thing about it, is he’s mentally tough enough that it doesn’t even bother him."

It's the type of mental toughness that has to be widespread if the Leafs are going to remain close to the top of their division. Their schedule headed into the final month of the 2017 is loaded primarily with road games dispersed between a healthy mix of Eastern and Western Conference competition. How they approach the next five weeks of games could speak volumes to how prepared they are when they finally face off against the league's best, the Lightning, on Jan. 2.