What Will the Month of December Bring for the Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs had a busy November with 15 games in 30 days. December will be a little easier with 12 games in 31 days with no back-to-back games.
The Toronto Maple Leafs will play their first game of December on Saturday, December 3rd. It will be a game against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Toronto has not played Tampa Bay since being eliminated from the first round of the 2022 NHL playoffs. Mitch Marner will be looking to set a new franchise record by recording a point in 19 straight games. He tied the record on Wednesday against the San Jose Sharks with an empty net goal.
After the game in Tampa Bay against the Lightning, Toronto will have two days off. On December 6th, the Maple Leafs will be in Dallas to play the Stars. It will be interesting to see if Toronto head coach Sheldon Keefe will play Nick Robertson in this game against his brother. The last time these two teams met (October 20th), Robertson scored the overtime winner for Toronto.
The Maple Leafs will return home on December 8th for a game against the Los Angeles Kings. It will be the first game of a three-game homestand for Toronto. On December 10th, they will host Nazem Kadri and the Calgary Flames. Following two days off, they will host the Anaheim Ducks on December 13th. Toronto will start a brief two-game road trip on December 15th in New York against the Rangers to cap off the first half of the month.
Second Half of December for the Toronto Maple Leafs
The second half of December will start with the second game of their brief road trip. It will be in Washington against the Capitals on December 17th. Toronto will return home for two days off before hosting a rematch against the Lightning on December 20th.
On December 22nd, the Toronto Maple Leafs will host the Philadelphia Flyers. The game will have a rare 2 pm ET start. Toronto will be off for four days following the game against the Flyers. It will be a nice break for the players to spend time with their families for Christmas. The Maple Leafs will return to action on December 27th in St. Louis to play against the Blues.
Toronto will continue its road trip with a game in Arizona against the Coyotes on December 29th. They will end the month in a game on December 31st against the Avalanche in Colorado. Hopefully, December will be as kind to them as November was.