TORONTO — It was two big points and a leap back into playoff position.
And for the Toronto Maple Leafs it was a night that underscored just how much of a struggle it is for them to stay on the right side of the line between good and bad.
“Disappointed,” was the word Sheldon Keefe used after his team’s 5-4 victory over the Anaheim Ducks that required overtime after Toronto squandered leads of 3-1 and 4-3 in the third period.
“It seems like we’re just lacking some confidence in those situations,” said Keefe. “Like, almost like we were waiting or expecting something bad to happen. That’s not what we want to be about. Clearly when we play like that we’re not a very good team. So we need to get on our toes and get our swagger and get our confidence, I think.
“It’s crazy how quickly things turn here, right?”
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It’s simply been that kind of week for an organization hoping to harness the excitement of a Wednesday night trade aimed at addressing two needs: Grit and goaltending.
The deal to bring in Kyle Clifford and Jack Campbell was made in the wake of a blown 3-1 lead in the third period to the Florida Panthers on Monday and mere minutes after the buzzer sounded on a 5-3 loss against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.
The newcomers each had some nice moments against Anaheim, although Campbell was disappointed with the three pucks that got past him during a third period where the Ducks brought a big push and out-attempted the Leafs 24-14.
“I know I have the ability to make a couple of those saves and that’s pretty much it,” said Campbell. “To be an elite goalie you’ve got to shut the door, especially in the third. It’s that simple.”
His new teammates made the final 25 minutes anything but simple.
“I just don’t think we skated well enough. We just didn’t initiate the play,” said captain John Tavares, who scored the overtime winner. “They came out with good energy, good legs and generated some momentum. We just didn’t kind of have the rhythm or the mojo that we had the first two periods, where we did so many good things in creating opportunities and putting them on their heels.
“Obviously something we have to get back to and find a way to execute better.”
With the playoff race kicking into high gear, it’s imperative.
Keefe is trying to focus on positives — pointing to consecutive wins over Nashville, Dallas and Ottawa coming out of the all-star break and the fact the first two periods against Florida were the most complete the Leafs have played since he replaced Mike Babcock on Nov. 20.
But a couple of warning lights on the dashboard of this high-priced sports car are also blinking.
“We’ve got to get through this,” said Keefe. “As I said, it just goes all the way back to Monday and I think it’s quickly how things turn. Right now you have a team that can’t protect a third-period lead, I think before this week started we were 15-1 going into the third period in my time here. So it wasn’t really an issue.
“We had the one game in Calgary [on Dec. 12], I think, that got away on us but other than that we were a team that was doing a really good job in the third period. So we’re not that far removed from it, we’re also not that far removed from great efforts in Nashville, a great effort in Dallas, battling and finding a way against a gritty Ottawa team, two great periods against our rival in Florida.
“We’re not that far removed from it, it turns quickly.”
However, they’re also facing a schedule that basically sees them play every other night for the rest of the season and takes them to Montreal on Saturday.
The Leafs weren’t sure if William Nylander would be able to play against the Habs after missing Friday’s game due to an illness. They know they won’t have No. 1 goaltender Frederik Andersen before next week because of a neck injury, and that they’ll be icing the NHL’s most green defence pair of Rasmus Sandin and Timothy Liljegren with Morgan Rielly (broken foot) and Cody Ceci (ankle) both on the shelf.
But they remain a team that is dangerous at each end of the ice.
Auston Matthews had a four-point game against Anaheim and pulled alongside Alex Ovechkin for the NHL’s goal-scoring lead with his 40th. Tavares scored twice, Mitch Marner had three assists, a reborn Jason Spezza had a beautiful end-to-end goal … and yet they were touch-and-go to secure the two points needed to jump past Florida in the standings (albeit with two more games played).
“I think you just take the good and bad,” said Matthews. “We don’t want to get in that position and it’s been a position that we’ve been kind of falling into quite a bit so we kind of want to snap out of that. Obviously we’re happy to take the two points and move forward but I think it’s something that we’ve got to keep in the back of our minds that we don’t want to let it happen anymore.”
Even in a win, the questions remain.
We’re still trying to figure out what this group is and how good it can be.
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