Leafs Thumb Their Nose at the NHL With Absurd Record During 2nd Half of Back-to-Back

Tonight's matchup against the Carolina Hurricanes represented the Toronto Maple Leafs' 16th back-to-back set this season, which tied them with the Hurricanes for most in the NHL.

Despite the difficulties that back-to-backs can serve, the Maple Leafs posted one of the better records on the tail end, having gone 10-4-2, which includes their 4-1 victory against Carolina tonight.

For the most part, back-to-back sets are relatively evenly split around the NHL but this year we saw the Washington Capitals only having 8 and the Boston Bruins not too far behind them with just 10 sets.

The fact that Toronto had 6 more sets throughout the season is a little questionable. However, their performance was remarkable, as evidenced by head coach Craig Berube's comments post-game.

During the most gruelling part of their schedule, Toronto had 3 back to back sets in the month of March and 2 in April, which included consecutive back-to-back sets against Florida, Tampa Bay, Montreal, and Carolina with 3 of those games being played on the road.

The Maple Leafs responded exceptionally well this year and proves furthermore that their 50-26-4 record heading into Game 81 on Tuesday night shouldn't be taken lightly. They have a glorious opportunity of locking up the division and setting themselves up to avoid a Florida first round matchup in the playoffs, despite the disadvantages their schedule offered.

With the playoffs on their way, the Maple Leafs will no longer have to play in any more back to backs but it will be interesting to see how the NHL responds next season and whether or not they'll be given a reprieve after a league-high 16 instances in 2024-25.