The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Chicago Blackhawks last night and have won both their post-break games.
With the victory, the Toronto Maple Leafs moved back into first place in the Atlantic, and they finally got some scoring from their blue-line and the bottom of their lineup - not bad!
The Leafs have now won five of their last six games, dating back to the start of February, but while this does seem good, they are only 6-4 in their past ten.
The Leafs will play Boston tomorrow, game two of a seven-game road-trip, but for now, let's break down their weekend.
The Toronto Maple Leafs Destroy Blackhawks, Have Won Five of Six
Beating Carolina was impressive, beating Chicago was expected. Still, two games, four points, can't complain. The Leafs secret weapon is goaltending, and as long as they stay near the top of the league in 5v5 save-percentage, they'll be alright.
The Leafs are currently fourth in 5v5 save percentage, which is great, but their team has several problems which are being hid by their goalies, and which have to be addressed if they want to advance in the playoffs.
For example: Their coach thought Pontus Holmberg was an acceptle choice to play with Tavares and Nylander. He wasn't. That line sucked despite starting like 80% of their shifts in the ozone. The fact that Holmberg has three goals in his last two games is totally irrelevant.
The Domi / Robertson / McMann line was great last night, and it actually seemed like they were in a regular rotation instead of taking all the ozone shifts from better players. This is great, except for the little problem of it happening once every two months and Domi still only having 3 goals on the year.
If the Leafs used Marner, Matthews and Nylander on separate lines like a smart team would do, they wouldn't be such a lopsided and inconsistent team. Nick Robertson has earned an extended look with some of the team's better players. Domi has earned a trip to whatever team will take his bloated contract.
This weekend was great for the Leafs because rarely do they win two games in a row where their best players are so silent. This has been a top heavy team for a long time, but it's never been as inept at scoring from the bottom six or the blue-line as this version.
The more they win between now and the trade deadline, the better the chance they go all-in and actually try to win the Stanley Cup.