For the first time since March 13, the Toronto Maple Leafs won a hockey game (or even grabbed any standings points, for that matter).
The fledgling franchise broke their eight-game losing streak by slipping by the Calgary Flames 3-2 on Tuesday. It probably warms a few hearts (or at least those of Dave Nonis and Randy Carlyle) that two offseason acquisitions helped Toronto win, as Dave Bolland scored and David Clarkson collected the game-winner.
(That was Clarkson’s first goal since Feb. 4. Let’s just say it was a night of ended streaks for the Maple Leafs.)
Sure, it was against the scrappy-but-out-of-it Flames, yet the Maple Leafs aren’t likely to complain about finally ending their slump.
The bad news is that the Maple Leafs will need other teams to stumble since they trail and only have five games remaining. The good news is that their competition generally stumbled, at least tonight; the Washington Capitals were trampled by the Dallas Stars while the Columbus Blue Jackets gave up a lead to lose in overtime to the Colorado Avalanche.
Stay tuned for a more detailed look at how the Leafs and the rest of the East’s teams fared on Tuesday, but the general takeaway is that it was a good night for Toronto. For once.