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December Outlook for the Red Hot Toronto Maple Leafs

By Jeremy Ridgewell

TORONTO, ON - APRIL 7: Jack Campbell #36 of the Toronto Maple Leafs is congratulated by teammate Auston Matthews #34 for breaking the consecutive wins by a Leaf goaltender against the Montreal Canadiens during an NHL game at Scotiabank Arena on April 7, 2021 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Maple Leafs defeated the Canadiens 3-2. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - APRIL 7: Jack Campbell #36 of the Toronto Maple Leafs is congratulated by teammate Auston Matthews #34 for breaking the consecutive wins by a Leaf goaltender against the Montreal Canadiens during an NHL game at Scotiabank Arena on April 7, 2021 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Maple Leafs defeated the Canadiens 3-2. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) /
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The Toronto Maple Leafs just completed a November to remember. They set a new franchise record by winning 12 games in a single month. Toronto played 14 games in November and finished with a record of 12-2-0.

Picking up 24 of a possible 28 points in November is an impressive accomplishment. Those 24 points have launched the Toronto Maple Leafs into first place of the Atlantic Division as of this writing.

The Florida Panthers have two games in hand, but the two teams are much closer than they were at the end of October. In each of their last ten games, Toronto has a 9-1-0 record, while Florida has a 4-4-2 record.

With the Leafs having no more games until December 1st, it is time to look ahead and see what the month of December has in store for them. Here is a complete breakdown of Toronto’s December schedule.

Toronto Maple Leafs December Schedule

Toronto will start the month of December by hosting Nazem Kadri and the Colorado Avalanche. Kadri was a fan favourite in Toronto, so he will probably receive a friendly ovation.

After that, Toronto will hit the road for a set of back-to-back games on December 4th and 5th. The first stop will be in Minnesota to play the Wild before traveling north to play the Jets in Winnipeg.

Next up for Toronto will be a three-game homestand. It will start with a game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on December 7th. They will then host the Tampa Bay Lightning on December 9th in a divisional matchup. On Saturday, December 11th, Toronto will host the Chicago Blackhawks before heading back out on the road.

The Toronto Maple Leafs will start a four-game road trip out west on December 14th in Edmonton against Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers. The Leafs did a decent job of shutting down McDavid last season, so we will see if they can do it again. This will also be Zach Hyman’s first game against the Maple Leafs since leaving Toronto.

Next up for Toronto will be a game in Calgary against the Flames on December 16th, followed by a game in Vancouver against the Canucks on December 18th. The next night on December 19th, will be Toronto’s first-ever game against the NHL’s newest team, the Seattle Kraken.

The Toronto Maple Leafs will then head home to host the St. Louis Blues on December 23rd before having a three-day break over the Christmas holiday. Toronto will return from the Christmas break on the road in Columbus against the Blue Jackets on December 27th.

They will end the month of December at home in a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins on December 29th. Hopefully, we will see Toronto have as much success in December as they did in November.

November saw the Toronto Maple Leafs play well defensively and get scoring from everywhere in the lineup. Both of those things along with the stellar goaltending they’ve been getting will need to continue in December if they want to remain first in the division.

Next. Checking In on Atlantic Rivals. dark

Auston Matthews and John Tavares are currently tied for the team lead in goals with ten each. It will be interesting to see if one of them gets on a hot streak and takes a commanding lead. We will soon find out.

December Prediction: 9-3-1 (19 points)

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