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Toronto Maple Leafs: The Beginnings of a Modest Streak

By James Tanner

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - FEBRUARY 14: Andreas Johnsson #18 of the Toronto Maple Leafs is helped off the ice by a trainer and teammate William Nylander #29 after Johnsson and Brayden McNabb (not pictured) #3 of the Vegas Golden Knights collided in the second period of their game at T-Mobile Arena on February 14, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Maple Leafs defeated the Golden Knights 6-3. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - FEBRUARY 14: Andreas Johnsson #18 of the Toronto Maple Leafs is helped off the ice by a trainer and teammate William Nylander #29 after Johnsson and Brayden McNabb (not pictured) #3 of the Vegas Golden Knights collided in the second period of their game at T-Mobile Arena on February 14, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Maple Leafs defeated the Golden Knights 6-3. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /
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Don’t look now, but the Toronto Maple Leafs are starting to put together a little streak.

Nothing spectacular, certainly nothing that will ward of the never relenting waves of negativity that the Toronto Maple Leafs face, but it’s something.

For just the second time this season, the Leafs have points in three straight games.

They lost in overtime against the Capitals, beat the Flyers in overtime, then beat the Kings last night.

That’s five points out of six, and points in three straight.

Toronto Maple Leafs Doing Alright

Now normally I don’t think this would be anything to write home about, but it’s worth pointing out because it some people might be desperate for a ray of light amidst all the doom and gloom.

They don’t like the roster.

It’s too soft, they whine.

I don’t like that the GM is younger than my son, they gripe.

They’ll never win with this team, goes the refrain (despite the fact that the outplayed the Bruins last spring, and they went all the way to the play for the Stanley Cup).

The Toronto Maple Leafs roster is fantastic, and despite a rough start, they’re still heavily favored to be one of the best teams in the NHL by any statistical simulation you can find.

The Capitals game showed a spectacular display of heart as the Leafs attempted to kill two overtime penalties.

The Flyers game showed they can win when they don’t play well, something I was told only “gritty” teams could pull off.

The Kings game showed they can limit chances and dominate a game when necessary.

For all the consternation over the last month of play, the Leafs emerge in November on a 97 point pace, in a playoff spot, and with a record three games over .500.

Yeah, it’s not perfect, but Tavares hasn’t been healthy (he might as well have not played last night, he didn’t look comfortable or good) and (you might have heard) their opening schedule has been preposterous.

Statistically, the Leafs should have a better record than they do (low PDO, still one of the lowest 5v5 save percentage in the NHL) and they’ve improved significantly on defense this year (more on that tomorrow).

They’ve done that all under some pretty lousy circumstances, and that indicates they’ll do quite well over the course of the season.

They will play the Vegas Golden Knights tomorrow and look to make it four games in a row with a point.

November Prospect Update. dark. Next

Give it another month or so, and I’m confident we’ll be able to right about an actual hot streak, and not just the beginnings of a potential one.

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