Play of the stars, resolve, depth add up to Maple Leafs winning streak

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Sheldon Keefe has the Maple Leafs right where he wants them. 

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Before giving his players the day off on Friday ahead of the trip finale in Denver against the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday, the Leafs coach was asked whether the club’s recent stretch is as good as he has seen them play in 2023-24.

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“I think that’s fair,” Keefe told media after the Leafs beat the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday. “Especially with the consistency. We’ve been talking about consistency being the difference. 

“We have played good hockey over the course of the season, but we haven’t put together a stretch like this. That’s what has been tremendous. The response of losing Morgan (Rielly to a five-game suspension) like we did and the illness and injuries and things we have been dealing with, the guys haven’t been fazed. They have been growing in their game, one game at a time.”

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The Leafs’ six-game winning streak, during which they have outscored their opponents by a total of 34-14, is their longest since the club won six in a row from Jan. 22-Feb. 7, 2022. A victory versus the Avalanche would give Toronto its first seven-game winning streak since the 2003-04 season, when the Leafs won eight consecutive games from Nov. 22-Dec. 6.

Though Rielly came back into action in Las Vegas after serving his suspension and contributed nearly 19 solid minutes, the Leafs’ list of missing regulars still includes goalie Joseph Woll (ankle), forward Calle Jarnkrok (knuckle) and defenceman Mark Giordano, who has been away from the team since his father Paul passed away last week.

Keefe has made some astute changes, with the switching of captain John Tavares and Max Domi on the second and third lines the most impactful along with moving defenceman T.J. Brodie to the left side on the blue line. 

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Crucial, of course, in the Leafs’ victories has been the play of stars Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, who seemingly can’t be stopped by anyone.

But that the Leafs have been able to keep winning as Keefe tinkers and as key players have been out also speaks to their resolve and to their depth.

The question is, how, if at all, does this run influence the thinking of general manager Brad Treliving with the National Hockey League trade deadline now under two weeks away, on March 8?

If the Leafs have similar success in the next several games, will Treliving put acquiring a defenceman such as Noah Hanifin or Chris Tanev into greater focus, or will he be content with adding more depth players on the blue line? 

Despite getting a firmer grip on third place in the Atlantic Division, trading a first-round pick to get one of Hanifin or Tanev wouldn’t be wise. Without a second-round pick in each of the next three years, and without a first-rounder next year, the Leafs have to keep what little they have in the higher rounds of the draft cupboard. And getting Hanifin only to watch him sign with a U.S.-based team in free agency, as many suspect he will, would make no sense — unless you believe Hanifin would represent the final piece in making the Leafs a true Stanley Cup contender, which he would not. 

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Something else to consider: As well as the Leafs have been playing and no matter who they add, they wouldn’t want to get the Florida Panthers in the first round. The Panthers are a better defensive club and are driven by their Cup final loss to Vegas last spring after eliminating the Leafs, among others. Florida today is the Cup pick for some. Outside of the Toronto room, few would say the same about the Leafs.

All that aside, the Leafs have a great chance to end their trip with another win. The Avs have stumbled since the all-star break, going 3-4-2 in nine games, though they have won both of their home games in that span.

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LOOSE LEAFS

After Jake McCabe said during his post-game availability on Thursday that Matthews should be in the conversation for the Selke Trophy, Domi was asked about it. “We do not care about those kind of awards,” Domi said. “It’s irrelevant. We are worried about one thing and one thing only. We’ll focus on that.” OK, Max, relax … Matthews will look to continue his 76-goal pace — 52 goals in 55 games — with a history of success against Colorado. In 13 career games, Matthews has 10 goals … In recording two assists against Vegas, Marner has tied the second-longest streak in NHL history for most multi-assist games. Marner is at six games, two off the NHL record of eight held by Wayne Gretzky, who had his run in 1984-85 with the Edmonton Oilers. Marner broke the Leafs record of five games, which had been held by Borje Salming and set by the defenceman in 1984-85 … Of Matthews’ 351 career goals, 260 have come at even-strength, the most in the NHL since his debut in 2016-17. The Oilers’ Connor McDavid was next with 227, followed by David Pastrnak of the Boston Bruins with 202. In short, no one is close to Matthews … With a 21-5-2 record in games against the Western Conference, the Leafs own the best mark in the NHL versus the opposing conference. In fact, no other team has at least 20 victories against the other conference. Including the match versus the Avalanche on Saturday, the Leafs have four games remaining against teams in the West, with the final three (against Vegas, Arizona and Edmonton) at home.

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