With the Maple Leafs already quietly on a roll, they will enter Saturday's game against the New York Islanders with a huge, unexpected advantage.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are riding a modest 2-game winning streak and are currently 4-0-1 over their last 5 games, signalling that perhaps they're turning a corner after a disastrous start to the season.
They're winning games in a bunch of different ways after first earning a 4-0 shutout victory against the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday, before a barnburner against the Winnipeg Jets last night that saw the Leafs erase a 4-1 deficit.
For the first time in quite awhile they're playing with confidence and that momentum could bode well for their weekend contest against the New York Islanders, who are expected to be without their leading scorer in Bo Horvat.
The Canadian Olympian had just returned from an injury stint in the middle of December and potted 2 goals in 3 games, before being forced out of yesterday's game against Utah with a lower-body injury. According to Elliotte Friedman, Horvat isn't expected to miss too much time, but he should be out for the next week.
Horvat has been a key cog in the Islanders early-season success as he leads the team with 21 goals and 33 points in 38 games. New York struggles to score goals, as evidenced by their 26th rank in the category league-wide, which bodes well for the Leafs, who just allowed 5 goals last night.
The Leafs will also be avoiding goaltender Ilya Sorokin, who was activated off the injured reserve earlier today. Head coach Patrick Roy announced that he will be backing up David Rittich tomorrow night, as he looks to avenge his previous start in which he allowed 5 goals on 14 shots.
However, just because they're injured doesn't mean the Leafs can take them for granted. We witnessed something similar a few weeks ago when the Chicago Blackhawks rolled without Connor Bedard and threw the kitchen sink at the Leafs, before they erased a 2-0 deficit in the third period.
A win tomorrow night would go a long way in the standings but it would also represent their first three game winning streak since they defeated Pittsburgh, Florida, and Carolina from the 29th of November to the 4th of December.