Feeling good about themselves after a stress-free 5-0 win over the Vancouver Canucks, the Toronto Maple Leafs head west with momentum on their side.
The victory marked the return of star forward William Nylander and continued Toronto's steady march toward an Eastern Conference playoff spot. The win stretched the Maple Leafs' consecutive points streak to nine games (7-0-2) and brought them within a point of the final wild card spot in the East.
Nylander's productive return (a goal and three assists) sparked a lineup that continues to get contributions from all areas, but sterner challenges await.
A critical four-game road trip along the West Coast now looms, one that will test whether the Leafs' recent progress can withstand the challenge of elite competition.
Leafs' Road Trip Features Juicy Storylines
The Maple Leafs' indifferent play for most of the first two months of the season kept them closer to the conference basement and out of a playoff spot. Their recent hot streak has returned them to relevance, but they are not in a position to relax.
Before Sunday's games, the Leafs found themselves fourth in the wild-card standings, part of a seven-team cluster separated by only three points, jockeying for a top-three divisional position or a wild-card spot.
The first challenge to the Maple Leafs' newfound mojo arrives on Monday against the league-best Colorado Avalanche. Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, and company are on a ridiculous pace at the season's midpoint mark.
The Avalanche are playing at a .830 clip, amassing 73 points over 44 games (33-4-7), and their +80 goal differential is more than double the second-best Tampa Bay Lightning's +39. MacKinnon is on pace to challenge the seventy-goal mark, has 78 points in 44 games, and is a Hart Trophy contender for league MVP.
Norris Trophy candidate Makar has 51 points in 44 games. A league-best penalty-kill (85.6%) has helped the Avalanche to an NHL-low 2.16 goals-against-per-game. If that wasn't enough, they are riding a seventeen-game winning streak on home ice. The Leafs will be pressed to improve their woeful road record (6-10-2, .389 points-percentage) right out of the gate.
Next, the Maple Leafs face the Utah Mammoth, who pose less of a threat, but it is the second game of a back-to-back before Toronto heads to Vegas to face a familiar face.
Thursday's match will mark the first time the Maple Leafs and Vegas Golden Knights have faced each other since Mitch Marner, Toronto's former homegrown, hometown star, left for the city that never sleeps as a free agent after nine years with the Leafs.
The Maple Leafs have struggled and looked lost for most of their first season without their former star right winger until recently. Over the past nine games, Toronto has looked like a team unrecognizable from its early-season form.
Marner is doing fine, but is not putting up huge numbers for his new team (10-36-46 in 43 games). The Golden Knights are 20-11-12 for 52 points, just a point ahead of Toronto, having played one less game.
It will be fascinating theatre to observe the lead-up to the game from both Marner and his former teammates. Both teams will want this game badly. Marner will want to show he made the right choice and is happy in his new home.
Auston Matthews and his Leafs' teammates will want to show they are just fine, and now thriving, without their former first-line winger. Another sub-plot is the return of Nicolas Roy to Vegas. It took a while, but Roy has steadied the Maple Leafs' depth at center and has formed an effective trio with Easton Cowan and Nick Robertson.
Toronto's final stop on the four-game trip is in Winnipeg to face the Jets. Winnipeg will be eager for revenge after blowing 4-1 and 5-4 leads in a 6-5 loss on New Year's Day in Toronto.
The Maple Leafs' recent surge has pulled them back into the playoff picture and restored confidence around the group, but that progress remains fragile.
Without carrying their improved play onto a demanding road trip, Toronto risks surrendering the ground it has worked to regain in an unforgiving Atlantic Division and crowded Eastern Conference race. The opportunity is there to prove this team has truly turned a corner, but only results away from home will make it stick.