Breaking down the Toronto Maple Leafs must-win schedule after the Olympic break

After a two-week hiatus, the Toronto Maple Leafs are gearing up to hit the ice for three games in four nights next week. They will be on the road in Florida and then coming home to face an Ontario rival. As the Leafs look to keep their playoff hopes alive, this will be a tough stretch to garner a spot.

After coming off a three-game win streak, beating all of Western Canada, a strong return after the Olympic break is what’s needed for this team to potentially get into the playoffs. These three upcoming games will be a challenge, as they are all divisional matchups and important to win if the team wants to make it into the postseason.

The first game on Wednesday, Feb. 25, sees them take on the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Florida Panthers, who are also fighting to secure a playoff spot. The next night, they go into the first-place Tampa Bay Lightning’s barn, and then come back home for a Saturday night Hockey Night in Canada matchup against the Ottawa Senators. As these games are some of the most important of the season, the Leafs have to dig deep to pull off three massive wins.

Taking on the champs

With the surprise season that the Toronto Maple Leafs are having, the NHL’s back-to-back champions are in the same boat, slowly sinking. Not having Matthew Tkachuk and captain Alexander Barkov has really sunk this Panthers team all the way to the bottom of the Atlantic Division, 11 points from third in the division and eight points from a playoff spot.

This is not going to be an easy matchup, as Tkachuk will be back in the fight for his defending champs to try and go for a three-peat. If the Buds want to win this game, they need to get on the board first, as giving Florida the lead and playing behind them was what killed them in last year’s playoffs.

A hot start to this road trip, killing the Panthers’ chances at a dynasty three-peat team, would give confidence to each and every one of those players on the Maple Leafs. Start strong in Sunrise and come ready for Tampa.

A lightning strike

A Florida trip back-to-back isn’t fun when you’ve got the first-place Tampa Bay Lightning the following night. Tampa is on a hot run this year, running through the Atlantic Division with ease. With Nikita Kucherov having an MVP season and Andrei Vasilevskiy turning back the clock with Tampa looking towards a Stanley Cup, this will be a hard matchup for Toronto.

The Leafs caught lightning in a bottle a few years back and have had their number the past couple of seasons; this will make for a great game. What a statement it would make for the Leafs to come into the first-place Tampa barn and win, sweeping the Florida road trip.

Their playoff hopes would certainly get closer to reality. 

Battle of Ontario

To finish the first week back from the Olympic break, the Leafs take on their Ontario rivals, the Ottawa Senators, on a Saturday Hockey Night in Canada showdown. The Senators are also fighting to keep their playoff hopes alive, as goaltending has snakebitten them over the course of the season.

With the highly powerful offence the Leafs have, this should make for another high-scoring game, just like in December when Toronto won 7–5. One of the biggest games of the year against one of their biggest rivals could make or break the Leafs’ chances at the postseason, with Ottawa close behind.

The Battle of Ontario has always delivered, and with it being on Hockey Night in Canada, expect no different. 

Must win

The Leafs need these points, as they are only behind the Boston Bruins by six points for second in the wild card. Beating all three division rivals in a row would spark a playoff push and silence all the haters. This falls on the players to deliver and execute; beat your rivals and give yourself hope, otherwise, watch as teams who were on level with you have undoubtedly surpassed you.