Toronto Maple Leafs: Best Team in the NHL
The Toronto Maple Leafs have won six games in a row.
Auston Matthews returned to the lineup and the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Montreal Canadiens 6-0 to move to 14-7 on the season.
The win puts the Leafs to within four points of the league-leading Tampa Bay Lighting, and a full ten points up on the soon-to-fire-their-GM Canadiens. It’s not going to be long before they pass Tampa and take their rightful position as the NHL’s best team.
In fact, the Toronto Maple Leafs moved into third place in the NHL with the victory, confirming once and for all what I’ve told you all year long: The Leafs are legit Cup Contenders.
For all you doubters, just know one thing: You don’t understand how insane it is to have CONNOR BROWN as a fourth liner.
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The Leafs are third in the NHL in regulation wins. Second in scoring. First in 5v5 scoring. Second in goal differential.
And, you could make legitimate arguments for Auston Matthews to win the Heart Trophy and Morgan Rielly to win the Norris Trophy.
But let’s talk about Frederik Andersen.
Freddie A
Andersen has got his save percentage up to .914 on the year. It wasn’t that long ago where he was under .900 and I called him a disaster. And it was true. He had a garbage October, and he deserved to be called out for his terrible play.
But the Leafs manged to win more than they lost during Andersen’s slump, and everyone said their defense was horrible. I said it wasn’t so bad, they just needed some saves. Somewhat ironically, I am now saying their defense is terrible and their goalie is great! Funny how it goes.
In reality, the Leafs are not going to get .960% goaltending (no team or goalie can sustain that level of greatness) but they’re also not going to have Marner and Nylander ice-cold in the shooting percentage department forever either. Basically, as a season goes on, there are ups and downs, but when you’re this deep of a team you manage to overcome them.
A six game win streak during a team when your best player goes down and you struggle to suppress shots is – to say the least – very fortunate. But it’s also a testament to the depth of the roster and the foreshadowing of just how crazy good this team can be when they finally put it all together.
Best Team in the NHL
Last night, the Leafs – before Babcock changed up the lines – were getting pounded by the Canadiens , allowing 16 shots in the first and being generally dominated. They picked it up (obviously) but Andersen was still the game’s first star (I assume, I don’t actually care who the ‘three stars’ were on TV – if Andersen wasn’t #1 then they’re crazy).
Next: Critics of Nylander, Marner Are 100% Wrong
During the Toronto Maple Leafs winning streak, Andersen (and for one game, McElhinney) has been their best player. While he was terrible in October, he’s been a savior in November.
Back-to-back shutouts and a six game winning streak. This team is unstoppable.