SUNRISE, Fla. – After 47 games, the Toronto Maple Leafs regular season comes down to one final matchup with Montreal.
And how is this for a reward if they can win in regulation on Saturday night?
A first-round matchup against those very Habs.
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That hasn’t happened since 1979 and there’s every reason to believe Toronto wants the drought to end now. The Leafs have already taken three of four meetings from their Original Six rival, including a 6-0 victory on Feb. 9 at Bell Centre that was arguably their most complete victory of the season.
Basically, there will be something to play for in the season finale at Air Canada Centre and the Leafs headed home from Florida knowing that would be the case.
“Regardless of the situation, we want to win every single game,” Leafs forward Nazem Kadri said after Thursday’s 4-0 victory over the Panthers. “That’s going to be a crucial game — it could turn out to be a very, very important game for us and for them.”
It might also be the first of eight potential meetings over a two-plus week period that would grip fans in two of hockey’s most passionate fanbases.
Buckle up.
Toronto seemed encouraged by its victory at the lifeless BB&T Center, particularly since it came 24 hours after a poor performance in Tampa.
Never mind that the only significant moment in Florida’s future is finding out if it will win the draft lottery; this was a game the Leafs absolutely needed and they found a way to get the job done.
“We didn’t feel we played our best last night,” James Reimer said after a 34-save shutout, his fourth of the season. “We wanted to come in here and make a statement for ourselves.”
That was something Randy Carlyle had essentially demanded. The coach was unhappy with the lack of physical presence his team established in the game against the Lightning and saw them reverse course against the NHL’s 30th-place team.
Not only did the Leafs almost match their hit total from the previous night in the first period alone, they also showed plenty of fight in the middle frame.
After Kadri got mixed up with Alex Petrovic near the Panthers goal, he took a hard left to the face from the Florida defenceman. That prompted teammate Mark Fraser to jump in and tackle Petrovic, instantly earning Fraser a game misconduct for third man into an altercation.
“Any single person on our team would do it for him too,” said Kadri. “I think that’s the big difference with this Maple Leaf group this year is everyone’s on the same page and no one wants to disappoint each other.”
Even with the playoffs drawing near, there is a fair amount of uncertainty with the Leafs lineup.
Kadri found himself centring the top line with Joffrey Lupul and Phil Kessel — the first time he’s played with Kessel all year — after Tyler Bozak was scratched for “maintenance.”
The audition went pretty well.
Kadri drew an assist on both of Kessel’s goals against the Panthers, including a lovely setup on a 2-on-1 to make it 3-0 and essentially end any hope of a Florida victory.
“I’ve always wanted to play with Phil just because he’s a world-class player,” said Kadri. “I want to make myself better by playing with those type of guys. … I had fun tonight.”
The Bozak situation will be interesting monitor.
There was speculation he was dealing with an upper-body injury, but Carlyle downplayed any talk of an injury. He indicated that the centre might play against Montreal.
“I would expect that we would have everybody available to us,” said Carlyle.
Perhaps it is only fitting that this hastily thrown-together season is wrapping up with a fair amount of instability. Some of the lineup changes might end up being beneficial — Clarke MacArthur ended a 15-game goal drought on Thursday — as the team looks to round its way into form.
Kessel has also quietly put together another quality campaign that will almost certainly leave him in the top-10 in league scoring for the second straight year.
Against the Panthers, Carlyle wanted to see a more involved game from his team and it was evident from the drop of the puck that the message had been received. In fact, the Leafs were much better in all of the smaller details of the game — a trend that will need to continue for success – at least until sitting back in the third period.
The playoffs essentially start right now.
Toronto can also still draw Washington and Boston in the opening round, but it controls its own destiny as it pertains to Montreal.
After a week on the road, the players were thrilled to be heading home at the most important time of year.
“Can’t wait,” said Kadri. “We’ve been away from the city for almost too long. … I’m ready to go back and handle our business on Saturday.”