The Toronto Maple Leafs schedule is not a cake walk as they enter the final stretch of the season. The team is off for eight days straight with the All-Star game and their bye week immediately following. When they return to action, they’ll have a schedule loaded with playoff teams and teams looking to get themselves into the playoffs.
Toronto Maple Leafs Schedule Is A Tough One
Playoff Teams
The Maple Leafs have 13 games remaining against teams currently in a playoff position. Of those 13 games, 11 of them are against teams in one of the top three division spots. Five of them are against division leaders if you consider the Nashville Predators a division leader. The Predators are currently tied with the Winnipeg Jets for first in the Central Division.
The other four games against division leaders include two against the Tampa Bay Lightning and two against the surprising New York Islanders. Both of the games against the Islanders are in New York, where the fans will do their best to make it an uncomfortable place for John Tavares and company.
The Maple Leafs also play the Montreal Canadiens three more times this season. Not only are the Canadiens currently sitting in third place in the Atlantic Division, but they’re also only one point behind the Maple Leafs. With the race for first in the Atlantic a foregone conclusion, these two games against Montreal could wind up deciding who has home ice advantage in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. If Toronto and Montreal do wind up playing each other, it will be the first time the teams meet in the playoffs since 1979.
Wild Card Race
Toronto only plays two games against teams that currently hold wild-card spots, but they play the Buffalo Sabres three times. Buffalo is only four points out of a wild-card spot, and have already spent much of this season sitting in a playoff spot. These games could be especially tough, not just due to the division rivalry, but as Buffalo pushes to make the playoffs for the first time since 2010-2011. The Maple Leafs have a history of not faring well against the Sabres as well.
It gets a lot tougher in the west. There are seven teams within three points of each other jockeying for the two wild-card spots. The Maple Leafs play seven games against those teams.
They play 13 games against teams currently in playoff spots, and another nine against teams that could wind up making the playoffs. Add the Carolina Hurricanes to that list, who aren’t out of the wild-card race yet, and that leaves only 10 games against teams that are surefire non-playoff teams. That makes 23 against playoff teams and teams that are fighting for a playoff spot.
Three of the 10 games against teams that have little hope of making the playoffs come against the Ottawa Senators. There’s a lot going on in Ottawa these days, and they could be going through the motions of a lost season soon, but they could also find a way to get up to play against their provincial rivals. There’s anger stewing in the nation’s capital. Games against them should not be taken lightly.
Road Trips
Road trips can be fun. They can help teams bond and get them ready for the arduous road to the Stanley Cup Final, but they can also be tedious and exhausting. The Maple Leafs have two tough road trips remaining the season. One starts early in February that sees them play six games on the road including a game against the Vegas Golden Knights. Apparently, there are a lot of fun things to do in Las Vegas and players have been known to partake. What else could explain the Golden Knights home record of 45-16-5 in a season and a half? That’s a pace of 118 points in a full 82 game season. That’s a fantastic record for an expansion team. Does anyone expect Seattle to fair as well? Vegas’ away record this season is 13-13-1.
Toronto also has a western Canada swing in March against the Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, and Vancouver Canucks. The Maple Leafs have been hit and miss on road trips to western Canada over the years. There’s no reason to think they can’t do well in March, but all three teams will play them tough.
There’s A Positive To All This
It’s not all doom and gloom for the remaining schedule. It’s a good thing the Maple Leafs don’t have an easy schedule ahead of them. Last season they had little to play for as spring neared. They were anchored to third place in the Atlantic division with little chance of moving up to second, or of dropping down to a wild-card spot.
The team was able to coast through the end of the season winning on talent alone. They won against non-playoff teams that likely weren’t playing for much, and they lost against playoff teams that were gearing up for the more difficult style of play that comes in the playoffs. The result of the lack of pressure to win in the final games of the regular season was two horrific games against the Boston Bruins to start the playoffs, and a Nazem Kadri suspension as frustration boiled over early in the series.
This season, the Maple Leafs won’t have a cushy road down the stretch. Teams will play them hard, and with home ice advantage on the line, the players will have something significant to play for as both Boston and Montreal chase them in the standings. Those difficult games leading up the playoffs will better prepare Toronto for the rigours of playoff-style hockey.
Expectations
The Maple Leafs’ record of late hasn’t been exceptional. They were 4-6 in January. Although they did beat the Lightning and Washington Capitals in that time. The All-Star break and bye week have come at a good time for Toronto. They head into it after a win against Washington and can use the break to prepare for the final stretch of the season.
They’re still on pace for 103 points. William Nylander seems to be regaining his form. Auston Matthews broke his goal-scoring slump. Kadri’s luck with the goal post may have turned for the better. Signs are pointing to this team getting back to their winning ways of earlier this season. Kyle Dubas may even be looking for ways to patch up the hole that is Toronto’s right side defence. The Maple Leafs have a challenging schedule ahead of them, but it’s the best teams that rise up to those challenges and this one is only a precursor to the real challenge that awaits in April.
Main Photo: TORONTO, ON – FEBRUARY 10: Mitchell Marner #16 and William Nylander #29 of the Toronto Maple Leafs share a light moment during action against the Ottawa Senators in an NHL game at the Air Canada Centre on February 10, 2018 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Maple Leafs defeated the Senators 6-3. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
