The Toronto Maple Leafs didn’t clinch anything (aside from rookie records) on Monday. This wasn’t a must-win game against the Buffalo Sabres.
You could categorize it as a really-should-win game, though, and they really took care of business. After rushing out to a 3-0 lead, the Maple Leafs ended up beating the Sabres 4-2 tonight.
With that, Toronto is now at 93 points with four games remaining. And those four games look pretty challenging on paper:
Tuesday: vs. Capitals
Thursday: vs. Lightning
Saturday: vs. Penguins
Sunday: vs. Blue Jackets
No big deal, just three of the best teams in the NHL and a desperate squad that arguably should have been one of the best in the NHL this season. With tomorrow’s game and this coming weekend in mind, Toronto also faces two back-to-back sets.
Woof, that’s tough.
On the bright side, the Maple Leafs get all of those games at home. They also bought themselves some room to breathe with this win.
Leafs move up to 93 points ... Toronto can clinch a playoff spot as early as tomorrow night (win v WSH & loss by TBL at BOS)
— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) April 4, 2017
And, hey, they’ve now won four in a row, seven of eight and have gone 10-2-1 since March 7. Instead of hurting the Maple Leafs in the tight Atlantic seeding ... perhaps they’ll gain confidence against some of the East’s best and go into the playoffs on fire?
We’ll need to wait and see, but this looks like a key win at the moment.