Toronto Maple Leafs and Their Tiny Dmen Take Down Big Bad Wild

The Toronto Maple Leafs won an oddly scheduled Friday afternoon game, thanks to a game winning goal from William Nylander.

The Toronto Maple Leafs played with a new patch on their shoulder honoring their all-time best defenseman Borje Salming who passed earlier this week.

William Nylander scored the game winner and dedicated the goal to his fellow countryman.

The Leafs are now on an insane 8-1-4  run, of which it should be noted that the overtime losses kind of obscure what is (regardless) one of the best runs in franchise history.

The Leafs have gotten 77% of the points available to them over the last 13 games, which is insane when you consider:

The goalie injuries.

That Kampf and Matthews are still tied with 3 x 5v5 goals, 22 games into the season.

That Morgan Rielly, TJ Brodie and Jake Muzzin are all out longterm.

Imagine there was this one guy who, no matter how bad the luck, no matter how unlikely and unlucky the results were, always new how good this team was. 

Imagine how such a guy would feel right now.   I can’t say for certain, but likely pretty damn good!

Toronto Maple Leafs (AKA the Obvious Best Team in the NHL) vs the MN Wild

Once again, the Leafs came out and played a solid road game. (stats naturalstattrick.com).

The Wild have some big guys, but the Leafs have Victor Mete and Mac Hollowell, who, when they stand on top of each other shoulders, can combine into one  average size defenseman.

People laughed about the idea of the Leafs pairing 2 of the smallest defenseman they could find, one of them a rookie playing his second game.

Paired together, the Leafs 2 x 5’9 warriors posted a 52%, had more shots than they allowed, posted an 70% xGoals rating, and outscored the Wild 2-0.

I would rather watch Mete and Hollowell every night for the rest of the season than see the Leafs dress Jordie Benn for any games ever.  Small and fast is the way to go.  It’s why John Klingberg or Erik Karlsson should be their trade targets, not old slow duds.

Sandin and Liljegren were 61% and great for the second game in a row.  The injuries are the best thing to ever happen to the Leafs because forcing these two into top minutes is the most important thing they have to do before the playoffs.

Once the Toronto Maple Leafs realize that Timothy Liljegren is their best defenseman and start acting accordingly, they will improve even more.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are quietly becoming the best story of this young NHL season.  Their heart and determination is becoming as impressive as their record.