The Toronto Maple Leafs will face the LA Kings on Saturday night in a must-win game. With first place in the Atlantic Division on the line, the Leafs must come out guns blazing and try to put the game away early.
The Toronto Maple Leafs enter the game in second place in the Atlantic after the Florida Panthers beat the Utah Hockey Club 2-1 in overtime on Friday night. The Panthers now have 91 points, to the Leafs 90. The formula is simple here: Beat the Kings and jump back in first place.
It’s also worth pointing out that a regular loss combined with a win by the Tampa Bay Lightning could drop the Leafs to third place in the Atlantic. As you can see, this game is a must-win for Toronto.
The first bit of good news is the Toronto Maple Leafs pounded the Kings in their first meeting on October 16 of last year. But that game seems like it happened eons ago. A lot has changed since then. The Kings are 8-2-0 in their last 10 games and look like a solid contender in the West.
Meanwhile, the Leafs are 5-4-1 over their last 10. In my estimation, it seems like fatigue is catching up to the team. The hard-hitting, grinding style that Craig Berube espouses takes its toll on players. So, by this point in the season, don’t be surprised if a number of players are pushing through assorted injuries.
In short, the Leafs need to win on Saturday to keep up with the Panthers and Lightning. Unfortunately, there’s a razor-thin margin for error at this point, making this game one of the most crucial in the season.
John Tavares red-hot for Toronto Maple Leafs
One of the major storylines heading into Saturday night’s Leafs-Kings clash is the red-hot John Tavares. Tavares has registered 11 points in his last five games, including six goals. Over the last month or so, Tavares seems rejuvenated. It looks like he’s turned back the clock about five or six years and has led the offense at times when Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews have been unable to score.
It'd be great to see Tavares thrive, especially at this point in the season, as the Leafs need as much scoring as they can get from all over the lineup. Similarly, Willam Nylander hasn’t made the same mistake from last year, ghosting the last dozen games of the season.
Nylander scored twice in the game against the Sharks on Thursday night. He’s up to 42 tallies on the season, good for second in the NHL. Nylander trails the Edmonton Oilers' Leon Draisaitl by seven goals for the NHL lead. With Draisaitl injured, Nylander actually has a chance to catch Draisaitl and take over the goal-scoring lead.
It would be great to see Nylander blow past Draisaitl and claim the Rocket Richard. It’ll take 50 goals to do it, but it would be fantastic to see Nylander pull off such a feat.