The Toronto Maple Leafs have had a tough first two months of the season; there's no way around it. They've won just nine games in regulation and currently sit on the outside looking in of the playoff picture.
We're now heading into a stretch of the season where the Toronto Maple Leafs will be without both Stolarz and Woll. They are 3-1-1 in their last five, but not having either of those guys is a new hurdle.
Although it has been a nightmare start, between poor play and injuries, I still think the Leafs can turn it around and find themselves in the playoffs by the end of the regular season.
The Atlantic Division has been unexpectedly mediocre through the first 30-odd games, and a hot week can catapult a team up the standings. On top of this, I think now that the Leafs centre depth seems to be fully healthy, finally, and that is the main reason I think this team can turn it around.
Why they can turn it around
Whether it was Laughton being injured, Matthews being injured, Roy being injured, or a combination of all three, the Leafs have played just six full games with all four of their best centres in the lineup through 28 games this season.
Since they've all come back, we've seen a much better forward core. The bottom six have played a much more physical game and are starting to produce offensively. Players in the bottom six have scored 10 goals in the last four games.
Now that obviously isn't sustainable, but for most of the season, the fan base was wondering why guys like Dakota Joshua couldn't contribute. Even if they regress a little bit, I'm not asking them to carry the offensive production.
All they have to do is play tight defensively, play physically, and chip in offensively from time to time.
What having all four centres also does is take away penalty-kill minutes from Matthews. Laughton is a fantastic penalty killer, and we saw him score a shorthanded goal in the shootout loss to Montreal.
Having Laughton back gives you the option of putting out Laughton and Lorentz for the majority of the penalty kill instead of using Matthews and Knies. What I've noticed Berube doing is using Matthews and Knies late in the penalty kill to try to have them out there after the penalty expires.
Giving Matthews the most offensive opportunities needs to be one of Berube's focuses. If he uses his energy to score goals rather than play in defensive situations, that's how you can manufacture more goals.
They have depth at one of the most important positions in the sport, and that is something that can be a huge difference in a push for a playoff spot.