Toronto Maple Leafs: 3 Stars for the Month of January

TORONTO, ON - DECEMBER 23: Mitch Marner #16 of the Toronto Maple Leafs celebrates his goal against the Carolina Hurricanes with teammates Auston Matthews #34, Justin Holl #3, Zach Hyman #11 and Jake Muzzin #8 during the third period at the Scotiabank Arena on December 23, 2019 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Mark Blinch/NHLI via Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - DECEMBER 23: Mitch Marner #16 of the Toronto Maple Leafs celebrates his goal against the Carolina Hurricanes with teammates Auston Matthews #34, Justin Holl #3, Zach Hyman #11 and Jake Muzzin #8 during the third period at the Scotiabank Arena on December 23, 2019 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Mark Blinch/NHLI via Getty Images)
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LAVAL, QC – NOVEMBER 13: Toronto Marlies left wing Pierre Engvall (47) skates in control of the puck during the Toronto Marlies versus the Laval Rocket game on November 13, 2018, at Place Bell in Laval, QC (Photo by David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
LAVAL, QC – NOVEMBER 13: Toronto Marlies left wing Pierre Engvall (47) skates in control of the puck during the Toronto Marlies versus the Laval Rocket game on November 13, 2018, at Place Bell in Laval, QC (Photo by David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

January was somewhat of a roller coaster ride for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

After starting the month out with consecutive three-goal victories, the Toronto Maple Leafs went on to drop five of the next eight games.

They ended up finishing with a 5-3-2 record which and a .600 points percentage, which was bettered by only 10 teams.

Yet again, another month of this season was defined by injuries.  Jake Muzzin was injured near the end of December and missed the first eight games of the month.  Needless to say, the Leafs blue-line did not fare well in his absence.

Joining Muzzin on the I.R was arguably the Toronto Maple Leafs most important defenseman, Morgan Rielly who broke part of his foot blocking a shot and is out for eight weeks.

While the results Toronto garnered were nothing to write home about – pretty good, but not great – there were still some standout performers throughout the month.

Let’s take a closer look at three of them in our stars of the month post.