The Toronto Maple Leafs entered their game Monday against the Calgary Flames needing a big win, and they got it.
The Toronto Maple Leafs entered their last game having lost four of five, and it had been over two weeks since their previous regulation victory. Needless to say, a victory was needed, and the Leafs came through.
Auston Matthews scored two goals, while Max Domi stayed hot and the Leafs picked up a much needed win.
The win allowed the Leafs to keep pace with Tampa and remain only two points behind the Florida Panthers for first place in the Atlantic. The Leafs are in no danger of missing the playoffs, however. They have a five point lead on the Ottawa Senators for the first wildcard and a ten point lead on the Montreal Canadiens for the final spot.
Toronto Maple Leafs vs the Colorado Avalanche
The Colorado Avalanche are one of the NHL's best teams and they had a very productive Trade Deadline, despite trading Mikko Rantanen.
You would think that that would ruin their season, but the Avalanche recouped Martin Necas and then added a bunch of depth to help for their upcoming playoff run - Brock Nelson, Charlie Coyle, Eric Johnson and others were brought on to try and help the Avs win a second Stanley Cup this decade.
Still, stars being what they are, the Avs were obviously a better team before trading Rantanan. The Leafs have a problem with the Atlantic, but the Avs arguably have it even worse. The Avs are locked into third place and look to be playing the Dallas Stars - and Mikko Rantanen - in the first round.
Should they somehow manage to win, they then most likely have to play the NHL's top team, and the one with the best goalie, the Winnipeg Jets.
The Leafs will start Joseph Woll tonight, while Mackenzie Blackwell will get the nod for the Avs. The Leafs will use the same lineup they used against Calgary, which means that David Kampf is scratched (good), Scott Laughton is on the 4th line (embarrassing) and the Leafs are again using Nick Robertson and Max Domi on a 3rd line that has to be extremely sheltered to have success. Doing this robs Marner and Matthews of extra starst in the Ozone and extra time against weak competition and hurts the Leafs as a team in very subtle, but very real ways.
In the battle for first place, the Panthers and Lightning are off tonight, so the Leafs have a chance to pull into a tie for first. All three Atlantic Contenders are in action tomorrow.
The Leafs will play the New York Rangers tomorrow and Nashville on Saturday night.