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The Toronto Maple Leafs continued their winning ways on Wednesday, as Mitch Marner scored in the shootout to give the Leafs a 3-2 victory over the Florida Panthers at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, FL.
The win was Toronto’s fourth straight on the road and moved them to within three points of the Boston Bruins for third place in the Atlantic Division, but as the season moves towards the halfway mark, the question beginning to be asked is whether the Leafs are good enough to make the post-season.
Since the beginning of November, the components of what could constitute a competitive playoff-bound club have begun to show themselves, but their weak spots and flaws still make any serious bid for the post-season a long shot.
Rookies Auston Matthews (who scored his 17th goal on Wednesday), Marner and William Nylander have maintained a steady scoring pace, along with veterans James van Riemsdyk, Tyler Bozak and Nazem Kadri.
Frederik Andersen rebounded from a difficult October (five losses in seven starts and .876 save percentage) to be the #1 goaltender that Lou Lamoriello and Mike Babcock imagined (13-6-3 record, .939 save percentage) and the Leafs special teams have been above average (11th on the PP, 8th on the PK).
The warning signs continue to be the club’s lack of experience, displayed on multiple occasions this season in the form of blown third-period leads.
On Wednesday, Toronto surrendered a 2-0 lead to a struggling Panthers club (who were without center Aleksander Barkov) in the opening 2:43 of the third period, as Jake Gardiner allowed Jonathan Marchessault to slip behind him for the opening goal and rookie Nikita Zaitsev lost a puck battle behind the goal that resulted in Vincent Trocheck’s tying tally.
The Leafs are gaining ground with Andersen playing nearly flawless in goal, with Matthews scoring 11 goals in the last 15 games, with no serious injury problems and a favorable schedule (road wins against Boston, Florida and the league’s two worst record in Colorado and Arizona).
What happens when Toronto has to play their backup (Antoine Bibeau will get the start vs. Tampa Bay), when Andersen plays average, if Matthews slumps again, if management decides to move van Riemsdyk at the deadline or when the regular season gets more difficult in the second half (the Leafs have not played Columbus or the NY Rangers yet).
Lamoriello will not be dealing at the deadline with short-term success and a playoff run in mind. Moving out veterans like Roman Polak (UFA), Bozak, van Riemsdyk or Leo Komarov (one year left on current deals) to give more youngsters a chance is more likely.
bike trails
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Hall of Famer Mats Sundin will not play in the upcoming Centennial Classic Alumni game against the Detroit Red Wings at Exhibition Stadium on Saturday.
Sundin is staying close to home according to
Sportsnet,with the birth of his third child expected soon.
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