NASHVILLE, Tenn. – This is some heady, impressive stuff.
A sign that the Toronto Maple Leafs aren’t just content to qualify for the playoffs, but looking to smash down the door.
Their odds of getting there are now better than 90 per cent, according to Micah Blake McCurdy’s statistical model, after a workmanlike 3-1 victory over the Nashville Predators on Thursday night.
The young Leafs have strung together a 9-2-1 stretch at the most vital point of their season – managing to overcome a 7-2 stinker in Florida and the brief loss of starting goalie Frederik Andersen to injury and a run of quality opponents in the process.
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“We understand (what’s at stake),” said rookie winger Connor Brown. “We’re excited. You can feel our fans, how excited they are, so it’s a good time right now.”
The most encouraging sign at Bridgestone Arena could be found in the Leafs crease, where Andersen returned after missing the last five periods with an undisclosed upper-body injury and looked as though he never left.
After registering the 29-save victory, the Dane acknowledged feeling unsure about how the start would go.
He hadn’t played a full game in eight days and was jumping back into tight, high-pressure hockey. There was also the matter of whatever injury forced him out of Saturday’s game in Buffalo and saw him miss Tuesday’s start against Florida.
Despite that, teammates who have been put at ease by his presence all season had no idea he was feeling some uneasiness.
“I don’t think anybody was too worried about him,” said centre Auston Matthews. “He’s been our guy all year. He’s been solid for us and obviously tonight he was a brick wall out there. He made a lot of big saves and kept us in the game at times when they had momentum.”
This wasn’t a Picasso by any means, but you don’t grade victories at this point in the season.
All that matters are the two points the Leafs added to the standings – increasing their total to 89, the highest the organization has reached in a decade.
There is a healthy swagger developing around this group. You can sense the changing expectations of the players as they’ve become more confident playing with leads and had more success closing out games.
“It feels more like a playoff hockey game every game we play,” said winger Mitch Marner. “That’s obviously important for us to know what it’s going to feel like when…”
It was at this point Marner caught himself and changed his phrasing slightly: “if that happens.”
The Leafs clearly believe they’re a playoff team and they’re tantalizingly close to proving it. There are games looming against two opponents who won’t qualify for the post-season – Saturday at Detroit and Monday at Buffalo – before a punishing four-games-in-six-day homestand to conclude the schedule.
That finishing stretch could have been a backbreaker if not for the team’s strong performance in March.
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What they’ve done since an unproductive road trip through California is reduce the importance of the final week. It looks like it’ll be more about playoff seeding than securing a playoff berth.
Should the Leafs manage to go from 30th overall to the first round inside 12 months, it will be about more than just the special crop of rookies they’ve added.
Andersen has been key, as have their specialty teams. That was the recipe for success against a Predators team that controlled more than 63 per cent of shot attempts at even strength.
Nashville came into the night concerned about Toronto’s second ranked power play and still got burned by it. After Matt Martin delivered a big hit on Mattias Ekholm late in the first period, Austin Watson made the ill-advised decision to try and fight him.
Martin didn’t oblige, Watson was called for roughing and James van Riemsdyk promptly tipped home the game’s first goal.
“Marty did a good job there,” said Leafs coach Mike Babcock. “Finished his check and the next thing you know we’re on the power play and we’re up one. It’s always nice to score first when you’re on the road.”
That goal earned Marner his 41st assist, giving him the franchise record for a rookie. The mark had stood since Gus Bodnar had 40 in 1943-44, and came two days after Matthews surpassed Wendel Clark’s franchise record for goals.
“It’s definitely pretty cool growing up in that city and watching this team for my whole life and getting that accomplishment,” said Marner.
What will ultimately define this Leafs season is what they achieve as a team.
Even with so many young players, there is a real “we before me” mentality among this group. It has shown strongest in these games with more meaning as they’ve sacrificed the offensive risks that lead to turnovers for more conservative play.
“Our guys have done a better job in the neutral zone and we’ve looked after the puck better,” said Babcock. “Not to say they didn’t have some quality chances because they did tonight, but Freddie was good and the guys battled.”
Added Matthews: “At this point of the season being able to close out a close game like tonight definitely is a positive sign for us.”
It’s far from the only one. Good things are happening here.
