Toronto Maple Leafs: Hope to Get Two Points Closer to Boston

The Toronto Maple Leafs face off against the Chicago Blackhawks tonight, sitting four points behind second place in the Atlantic with a game in hand over Boston.

With the playoffs fast approaching, division rivals Toronto and Boston are almost certainly going to meet again in the first round. Hoping to write a new ending to the story of Boston playoff series that has haunted Toronto for their last two postseason meetups – in 2013 and 2018 respectively – the Leafs are battling Boston for home-ice advantage, in the hopes that a change of scenery could prevent a repetition of the heart-wrenching third-period, game-seven losses.

A win in Chicago would put the Leafs only two points back from Boston’s lead, however, the Blackhawks are likely to put up a fight. Despite sitting dead last in the central division and a ways back from playoff contention, the Blackhawks are heading into Toronto sitting on a three-game win streak. His team’s lacklustre effort hasn’t held back superstar Patrick Kane either, who is second only to Nikita Kucherov in scoring, with 98 points.

Last time the Leafs and the Hawks met it was an explosive match, perhaps remembered most notably for the back and forth celebrations between Kane and Auston Matthews, but equally as notable for the last-minute back and forth that sent the game to overtime.

Toronto won the matchup 7-6 in overtime.

This time around, the Leafs may be heading into the matchup the dominantly stronger team, however, they are coming off a devastating 6-2 loss to Tampa Bay in which starting goaltender Frederik Andersen, who has been the rock of the team for most of the season, was pulled after allowing four goals on 19 shots.

As if that weren’t enough, the Leafs roster is riddled with injury.

Defensemen Jake Gardiner and Travis Dermott are both sidelined with injuries, and it was announced this morning that forward Kasperi Kapanen will not play against Chicago due to a concussion. Kapanen missed Monday night’s match against Tampa Bay as well for precautionary reasons, and there is no timeline set for his return.

Kapanen will be sorely missed, having put up 19 goals and 42 points in 68 games this year, which is his first full season in the NHL. Furthermore, his line with Matthews and Andreas Johnsson has been a key part of the Leafs’ offence, and his explosive speed has been a major asset on the penalty kill.

The unfortunate situation has opened up an opportunity for William Nylander to play on the wing of Auston Matthews again, where he played for most of his two previous seasons with Toronto, but has been slow to work back to since rejoining the Leafs in December.

Many fans have been pushing for the reunion of Matthews and Nylander, and although he’s still only posted 17 points in 41 games, a solid effort in February has perhaps prepared him to return to the second line and Matthews’ wing.

A win tonight against Chicago, a team all but eliminated from playoff contention, isn’t a necessity. But a win for Toronto in spite of the injuries, with Nylander back in place, that puts the Leafs within two points of home-ice advantage; now that would be something worth celebrating.

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