The Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde theme to the Toronto Maple Leafs season continued during Saturday night's contest against the Winnipeg Jets.
A recent tailspin saw the Toronto Maple Leafs lose ground to both the Atlantic Division-leading Boston Bruins and the second-place Florida Panthers.
Making matters worse was the fact that the Leafs allowed the Tampa Bay Lightning and Detroit Red Wings to gain on them in the standings and threaten their third-place standing within the division.
After a slump-busting win over the Seattle Kraken that concluded their west coast swing, the Leafs faced a back-to-back against the stingy, Central Division-contending Jets. Naturally, a sweep of the four points concluded with a confidence-inducing road victory in the Peg.
Toronto Maple Leafs Defeat the Jets, Twice
Consider the long odds that would have been granted for the following parlay (for those who like to partake in such endeavors) before Saturday's 4-2 victory against the Jets.
Ilya Samsonov, who was recently subjected to the waiver wire, earning another victory.
Ryan Reaves, scoring a beautiful tip-in goal, after a weeks-long exile from the lineup.
The Leafs lose(!) a video challenge on a very dubious decision by the NHL Situation Room.
John Tavares ending the longest point-scoring drought of his career.
The Leafs get their second 5 on 3 power play advantage within the past week.
They score with that 2 man advantage, their second power-play goal in three attempts, to end a 1 for 20 slump that saw their number one unit get benched during the previous game.
A season-long mediocre penalty-killing unit has a perfect night and kills off four opposition power plays.
The cherry on top of the sundae? The Leafs calmly protect a one-goal, third-period lead against a formidable opponent.
A small wager on all of those events happening in one evening would set a bettor up for life on Easy St.
Since the Leafs can't bet on themselves (Mr. Bettman would not take kindly to that), they will have to take solace in the fact that they continue to confound their fans and likely the opposition. Can anyone confidently know which team will show up on any given night?
In the short term, they have shifted the momentum heading into their hiatus. The entire team will now be able to enjoy their pause in the schedule.
Samsonov is playing well and looks confident. Auston Matthews buried his 40th goal to set a franchise record for fewest games to hit that milestone.
He also is the fastest Leaf to reach 600 career points. Joseph Woll will soon return to join the goaltending ranks.
Tavares looked like he had the weight of the world lifted off of his shoulders with his power-play marker. Their special teams won them a game.
When the schedule resumes in a little over a week, the trick will be replicating these feats. Almost half a season remains to build on the defensive structure shown in the third period and continue to exhibit strong special teams' play.
At least for now, the Toronto Maple Leafs have a lot to feel better about.