The Toronto Maple Leafs sit atop the Atlantic Division heading into 2025. While not exactly shocking to see the Leafs leading the division, it is mildly surprising to see the club hanging tough with the Florida Panthers and the rebounding Boston Bruins.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have gritted through a tough stretch in which injuries became a significant issue. Auston Matthews has missed a substantial chunk of the season, with others like Max Domi, Matthew Knies, David Kampf, and Max Pacioretty all missing time at one point or another.
Still, the team has rallied around Craig Berube’s grinding, defence-first approach, and, for the most part, produced solid results.
And yes, the Leafs have had some tough games such as Saturday night’s loss to the Washington Capitals. The game was relatively close until the Caps pulled away and won the game by a wide margin.
Despite such losses, the Leafs have excelled in one area this season: Holding leads. According to this database, the Leafs have not blown a third-period lead this season. Interestingly, the Leafs, Panthers, Colorado Avalanche, and Seattle Kraken are the only teams in the league this season that have yet to blow a third-period lead.
Plus, the Leafs and Panthers have blown the fewest number of leads this season with three. That number shows just how well the Leafs have played while holding leads. Compared to last season, the Toronto Maple Leafs blew 19 leads with six of those coming in the third period.
If the Leafs can continue holding leads well enough, the team could be poised to finally make a strong playoff run.
Toronto Maple Leafs Strong Defensive Player Comes at the Expense of Scoring
As I’ve written previously, the Toronto Maple Leafs are morphing into the Boston Bruins. That phenomenon means that the Leafs are prioritising hard-hitting, tight-checking hockey over high-flying offence.
Now, I know what most fans are thinking: That’s not how the Leafs’ roster is constructed. That’s a good point. The Leafs current roster was conceived for speed and skill over strong defence. Players like William Nylander are not guys who will knock anybody’s teeth out.
But then again, we’ve seen how Nylander’s game has improved by avoiding costly turnovers. John Tavares seems to be thriving under Berube, while Mitch Marner has always been one of the league’s best two-way forwards.
Other players like David Kampf, Connor Dewar, and Bobby McMann look like they’re built for Berube’s game plan. As such, the Toronto Maple Leafs have the elements to play the sort of hockey that wins playoff series, albeit at the expense of scoring goals.
Plus, getting solid goaltending puts the Leafs in a position we haven’t seen in previous years. If everything holds up from now till the spring, we could be in for a busy spring, writing about how well the Leafs are playing in the postseason.