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Toronto Maple Leafs: Best Team In NHL Unaffected by Injuries

ByStephen Nixon|
TORONTO, ON - FEBRUARY 6: Auston Matthews #34 of the Toronto Maple Leafs heads back to the bench after scoring against the Vancouver Canucks during an NHL game at Scotiabank Arena on February 6, 2021 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Maple Leafs defeated the Canucks 5-1. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - FEBRUARY 6: Auston Matthews #34 of the Toronto Maple Leafs heads back to the bench after scoring against the Vancouver Canucks during an NHL game at Scotiabank Arena on February 6, 2021 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Maple Leafs defeated the Canucks 5-1. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)

The Toronto Maple Leafs injuries continue to pile up as they face the Calgary Flames tonight, but it won’t affect the outcome.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are the best team in hockey. Man, that felt so good to say, that I’m going to repeat it. The Toronto Maple Leafs are the best team in hockey.

Despite earlier lengthy injuries to Joe Thornton, Wayne Simmonds, Jack Campbell and Nick Robertson, the Leafs kept winning. Currently sitting with a 14-3-2 record, this team delivers night after night.

After that blown 5-1 lead against the Ottawa Senators one week ago, many people got worried. The PTSD kicked in for life-long fans because they’d seen this result before. Once things get good in Leafs Land, the 18-wheeler usually starts to fall off a cliff. However, this season looks different.

Leafs Face Calgary At Home Tonight

Although the injuries looked bad before, they got even worse heading into the game against Calgary tonight.

Zach Hyman is day-to-day, Joe Thornton is day-to-day and Jake Muzzin is now day-to-day, after breaking a bone in his face (via: Luke Fox, Sportsnet). As a result, Nic Petan, Mikko Lehtonen and Alexander Barabanov will draw in for the injured players.

Although two of the Leafs top-six wingers and one of their top-four defenseman are out, there’s nothing to worry about here because the Leafs are in first place.

Before we talk about the Leafs in more detail, let’s chat about the Calgary Flames and how brutal they’ve been lately. After starting the season respectively, they’ve lost four of their last five games and haven’t won a regulation game since February 11. Connor McDavid put on an absolute clinic against the Flames defense on Saturday night, registering five points on route to a 7-1 win.

The Flames and Leafs meet each other at complete opposite spectrums. While the Flames have lost three in a row, the Leafs have won three in a row and have done so in a convincing fashion. Toronto’s 5-3 win on the road in Montreal Saturday night may have secured the team the North Division already, despite still having 36 games to play.

Although the Leafs have a stockpile of injuries, it won’t matter because the team has a healthy Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner. Both young superstar’s are playing like Hart Trophy candidates right now and seem locked to have a multi-point game every night.

Matthews is hotter than the sun, currently riding a 16-game point streak and has 18 goals in 18 games. Marner on the other hand leads the Leafs with 30 points in 19 games played. With those two in the lineup, the Leafs have a chance to win every time.

As for a prediction, expect a high-scoring game and for Calgary to be flat after travelling to the East Coast for the first time in a month. Toronto wins this game 5-2 and Matthews’ point-streak continues.

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