Toronto Maple Leafs Starting to Rise

The Toronto Maple Leafs put the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions, the Florida Panthers, in an embarrassing position on Tuesday night. By beating the Panthers 4-1, the Leafs have moved out of last place in the Eastern Conference. The lone team scraping along the bottom of the Atlantic is the Panthers.

All of us who watched the Leafs game on Tuesday night saw a team that played smart hockey. They finally played with some urgency and were able to improve to 4-7-0 on the road. Toronto has now won two in a row for the first time since winning three in a row from Nov. 1-5. Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube said it was a solid game all around. Something he hasn’t been able to say much this season. He praised the play of goaltender Joseph Woll and the overall effort by the team.

Tuesday’s game was probably one of the fastest-paced games the Leafs have played all year. They were skating well, and their forecheck was the best we’ve seen this season. The Leafs are 3-1-0 on their current five-game road trip. Hopefully, they can finish the trip with another win on Thursday night in Carolina against the Hurricanes. These wins are important as the Leafs still have a big hill to climb. They are three points out of third place in the Atlantic Division.

The game against the Panthers was Toronto’s most complete win of the season. The bottom-six forwards were the main driving force, and the Leafs capped off the evening with Auston Matthews and John Tavares teaming up for an empty-net goal to put the game away. The victory was a result of the Leafs’ hard work. They won puck battles and didn’t allow the Panthers to have much space in the defensive zone.

Maple Leafs Playing Determined

Many of us have been wanting the Leafs to play this way for a while. The third line of Nicolas Roy, Dakota Joshua, and Bobby McMann had another strong outing. They set the tone and the competitive pace. As a trio, they should wear the opponent down consistently with physicality, and as we witnessed on Tuesday, there’s no getting in the way of Joshua when he goes to the net wanting to score. Head coach Craig Berube praised all three after the game. It appears that the Leafs finally have a solid third line with chemistry.

Troy Stecher and Scott Laughton each registered their first goals of the season. Something that must feel good for both players. For Stecher, his point shot got through a screen set by Roy to open the scoring. A nice reward for the way he has played since the Maple Leafs claimed him off waivers on November 15th from the Edmonton Oilers. Laughton, who missed time with an injury, removed his goal monkey off his back. His goal came off some incredible forechecking by Nick Robertson. Robertson battled veteran defenseman Gustav Forsling in the corner for the puck and won.

Laughton is not expected to score every game. However, that was just his third goal in 28 regular-season games for the Leafs since they acquired him from Philadelphia last March. Toronto needs a little production from him as they continue to fight their way back into a playoff spot. On Tuesday, the Leafs held on to a third-period lead, and it was Laughton’s goal that put a comeback for the Panthers out of reach. Toronto looks to keep its win streak alive against the Carolina Hurricanes tonight.