Former NHLer urges Maple Leafs to continue playing with newfound 'us against the world' mentality
Photo credit: Nick Turchiaro - Imagn Images
Former NHLer Jason Demers believes the Maple Leafs are well positioned for a late run and urges them to continue playing with a chip on their shoulder.
It's been an interesting regular season to date for the Toronto Maple Leafs, who at one point found themselves at or near the bottom of the standings. They've had to dig deep lately, but have come out of it with a 5-0-2 run that has brought back some of their swagger from year's past.
Auston Matthews is scoring goals at an unbelievable clip, Joseph Woll is playing standout goaltending, and the defense has held their own despite the myriad of injuries that keep occurring. With 15 games remaining until the Olympic break, it's absolutely paramount that they continue playing this same level of inspired hockey.
Former NHL defenseman Jason Demers joined the Leafs Nation podcast and echoed that same sentiment by mentioning how if the Leafs want to keep this success up, they have to play with an added chip on their shoulder that everyone is against them.
I think the mentality should be "us against the world" and I think they should hold onto that chip on their shoulder. They've had to battle through a lot of adversity this year. This is a team that if they can get to the playoffs, it's more suited and built for the playoffs, and we're seeing little cues from that because with all the injuries, they're still finding ways to win and playing good hockey.
Additionally, Demers urges them to keep that fire going, because he understands that Toronto is in a different league of their own when it comes to the fans, the media, and sometimes the opposition. People want to see them fail and they need to channel that into more positive results.
They have to take all the positives, block out the negatives, and really add fuel to the fire that everyone is against us, nobody wants us to win, and I think if they hold onto that and take that, it will help propel them.
The Maple Leafs have found themselves in an uncharted waters after having always been at or near the top of the standings for close to a decade. They have had to dig deep for the majority of the season and their hard work and persistence is starting to finally pay off.
Their schedule doesn't give them any reprieve until the Olympic break, so they're going to have to continue playing with their newfound swagger to make in-roads in a very congested Eastern Conference playoff picture.
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Previously on Toronto Hockey Daily
| POLL | ||
JANVIER 7 | 468 ANSWERS Former NHLer urges Maple Leafs to continue playing with newfound 'us against the world' mentality How far can the Maple Leafs push their current point streak (5-0-2) to? | ||
| 8 games | 165 | 35.3 % |
| 9 games | 80 | 17.1 % |
| 10 games | 112 | 23.9 % |
| 11+ games | 111 | 23.7 % |
| List of polls | ||