The Toronto Maple Leafs Have Won 4 Games In a Row

The Toronto Maple Leafs have won four games in a row now, after they beat the Tampa Bay Lightning last night.

It’s kind of crazy to think how much one horrible game against the Penguins (which, ironically, was a winnable game until the point in which things unraveled) slanted the entire season up until now for the Toronto Maple Leafs. 

They started the season quite well, winning two of three, and only losing to Ottawa when they put up 47 shots and still lost.  Then they lost to NY in overtime, in a game even the most disillusioned Leafs fan had to admit they got goalied in.

This kickstarted a four game losing streak, but it wasn’t until the third loss when things took on different tones.  The loss to San Jose (the second of the four) wasn’t exactly a great game by the Leafs, but it’s the kind of game they can usually score their way out of.

Up until the game against Pittsburgh, it was reasonable to say the Leafs could have been 5-0 if Matthews and Marner had scored at even half of their regular rates.  Then came the Penguins game.

Toronto Maple Leafs Blow  it In Pittsburgh

The weirdest thing about the Penguins game was that the game was tied and the Leafs were on a 12-1 shots run when everything went sideways.  It was like the Leafs suddenly realized they should have been on their way to 6-0 record, got frustrated and let it get away from them.

In the aftermath, I thought it was weird how everyone was seemingly so down on the team despite their good-to-great effort on the season as a whole up to that point.  It seemed to colour everything that came before it and melt any halfway positive vibes people were having about the team.

They put up a pretty good effort against Carolina the following Monday, in their first test of the year against a good team, but after the Penguins loss no one was prepared to give them any credit.

But after winning four in a row, I hope that people are starting to come around.  The Leafs haven’t just won four in a row, they’ve beaten two of the NHL’s best three teams (Colorado being the other one).  I don’t care who is injured , if you beat Vegas and Tampa by a combined score of 6-1, you had a good week.

The Leafs four game win streak shows that what I was saying about the previous seven games is true, because the Leafs have been remarkably consistent all season long, so far.  Mitch Marner has seven points in the last four games. Matthews has five points.

Those guys were playing well but getting unlucky to start the year, and just as I (easily) predicted, the team is winning now that they are scoring.  It’s funny how that happens!

If you want good news, Matthews is only getting started. The Toronto Maple Leafs are on a four game winning streak and they’ve so far only received maybe 50% of Auston Matthews’ overall powers.

Four wins in a row are great, but they’re just scratching the surface.