The Toronto Maple Leafs have had an interesting start to the 2024-25 season. After playing seven regular season games, they sit in fourth place in the Atlantic Division. Their next game is against the St. Louis Blues on Thursday, and they must take two points, for many reasons.
Disaster in Columbus
The Maple Leafs are coming off their worst game of the season. The Columbus Blue Jackets crushed them in a 6-2 loss on Tuesday night. After taking care of business against the Tampa Bay Lightning at home, it was quite the contrary for Toronto in their next game. It was the second night of a back-to-back that required the Leafs to fly to Columbus, Ohio. However, there are no excuses for the Maple Leafs because Tampa Bay also played that night as every team in the NHL played on Tuesday as part of the “Frozen Frenzy.” The Lightning beat the New Jersey Devils 8-5 in their second game of a back-to-back.
Therefore, it’s back to the drawing board for head coach Craig Berube and the Maple Leafs. However, Berube has an idea of how the Blues will play in their next game. This will be “Chief’s” first game against St. Louis since being fired by the organization in December 2023.
Toronto’s Next Game is Vital to Divisional Race
The Atlantic Division is stacked with several talented teams. Usually, in the first round of the playoffs, a strong team is eliminated because of the playoff format. Therefore, Toronto are setting a goal to win their division so that they can be seeded with a team that hasn’t been as strong as their opponents in the past. After their loss to the Blue Jackets, the Maple Leafs hold a 4-3-0 record and dropped to fourth in the division. It wasn’t an ideal result given their divisional aspirations. If they had won their game against Columbus, they’d be in first right now with a one-point lead on the Florida Panthers and a game in hand on the defending champions.
Therefore, Toronto’s next game against St. Louis will have a huge effect on the standings. Although, not only could a loss on Thursday be harmful to Toronto’s position in the standings, but it could also put a dent in their record. As mentioned, the Leafs are 4-3-0, pushing their point percentage down to .571%. However, if the Blues get the best of the Leafs, Toronto will see a .500% record. A team like the Maple Leafs who’ve seen eight straight playoffs shouldn’t have a split record.
Not to mention, after their home game against St. Louis, the Leafs travel to Boston. They’ll take on the Bruins on Saturday in another tough divisional matchup.
Berube on the Other Side of the Blues
On Thursday, Berube will be facing his old team for the first time since his departure. He’s been through a lot in St. Louis. He was the bench boss for St. Louis for six seasons and led them to a championship in 2018-19, his first season in charge. It was a wild season for St. Louis as they found themselves last in the NHL around January. Yet, Berube and the Blues battled and fought their way to the Stanley Cup.
This will be a very important game for Craig Berube and the Leafs will need to step up. However, to give credit to the Leafs and their coach, they’ve been playing really good hockey up until their loss to the Blue Jackets. All teams have a bad game and that was certainly one for the Maple Leafs. Apart from that, Toronto is a tough hockey club that looks to play the right way. Berube will be looking to get that out of them again on Thursday.
Main Photo Credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
