"If you take away the third period in Tampa Bay Tuesday night, the Toronto Maple Leafs outscored the top two teams in the NHL 8-3 this week. Outside of the final 20 minutes against the Lightning, the Maple Leafs have to be feeling good heading towards the postseason.
«I think the big thing is you enter the playoffs and every team that gets in believes they have a chance,» head coach Mike Babcock said last night, per Maple Leafs Hot Stove. «We haven't secured our spot yet, but we feel that we're going to get in. We think we're a young team that is getting better all the time. With Plekanec coming in here, that's given us four lines and now we can play in any spot. I wasn't worried about any matchups at all tonight. I thought that was positive. Johnsson gives us real good speed. We're a deeper team right now. That's a positive thing.»
Another «positive thing» was the return of Auston Matthews in Nashville last night. The Leafs young superstar and a big night as he put them up 2-1 late in the second period. Matthews had four shots on goal in just over 15:18 of ice time in his first game back.
«The first night, you always have energy. Now it's going to come,» Babcock said of Auston's return. «The good thing about it — and we've talked lots about this — is that he's been able to skate. His linemates were really good tonight, and that helped him as well. It's good for him. He's obviously got good skill level and good compete. I thought he was real good defensively. In the end, he's got to be feeling good.»"
