For the latest Leafs updates or Follow @mikeinbuffalo on Twitter The Toronto Maple Leafs will get a chance to catch their breath after a tumultuous week before finishing off their six-game road swing on Wednesday in Detroit and Black Friday afternoon in Buffalo. The Leafs won their second game in a row under new coach Sheldon Keefe in Denver on Saturday, scoring four goals in the first period and holding on for a 4-3 victory over the Avalanche. The performance was not as complete as the club’s 3-1 win over Arizona on Thursday, as Toronto was outshot 29-13 in the final 40 minutes and relied primarily on Frederik Andersen to hold off Colorado and earn the two points. “The whole of the game is different, I thought our energy level was different. We just looked like a tired team out there for a lot of the game, but I liked the fact that we got scored on in the first shift and, while it took us a couple of shifts there to find our way back, I thought we took over the game after that.… Keefe said after the game. “We built ourselves a very nice lead. That's a good team, they're going to push, they're going to make it hard on us and we battled to find a way to finish it off.… The Leafs will have a chance to familiarize themselves with Keefe’s tactical preferences in practices this week, but once the new head coach settles in, there could also be changes in the line combinations, defensive pairings, and possibly the makeup of the 23-man roster. Toronto will eventually have to cut down their roster to 21 for cap reasons when Mitch Marner returns, which likely means the demotion of Martin Marincin and Nic Petan (who have cleared waivers at least once), but it is also possible that Babcock favorites like Nick Shore and Frederik Gauthier could find themselves on their way to the AHL. Pierre Engvall has accounted himself fairly well in three games, scoring his first NHL goal short-handed on Thursday and adding an assist on Shore’s tying goal on Saturday. The lanky Swede could stay up once Trevor Moore returns from injury, and other Marlies alums such as Jeremy Bracco, Kenny Agostino, or Egor Korshkov could earn NHL looks at some point this season. One change that may be forced upon the Leafs will depend on the results of a hearing for forward Alex Kerfoot, who will meet with the NHL’s Department of Player Safety after cross-checking Colorado Avalanche defenseman Eric Johnson in the second period on Saturday. Johnson remained in the game after losing his balance and crashing into the end boards and Kerfoot has never been suspended, but the Avs calling up former Leaf Calle Rosen on Sunday may indicate that the Colorado blueliner is injured.
Kerfoot will have a hearing about his cross check to Avalanche defencemen Erik Johnson. #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/642r9Uo9c3
— The Sea of Blue (@theleafsproject) November 24, 2019
It is the second time that Armstrong has taken in a Leafs game in recent weeks. The Blues could be looking for scoring help with star forward Vladimir Tarasenko out until at least April with a shoulder injury and are loaded on defense. St. Louis is in the middle of the pack offensively, but have survived without Tarasenko and are atop the Central Division. The Leafs could be interested in Pietrangelo if the Blues are shopping the pending unrestricted free agent, but it would be hard to believe that Armstrong would deal his team captain even if there appeared to be no hope in re-signing him. *******
The podcast is on podcast. Enjoy. @MikeInBuffalo @IamNormanJames https://t.co/20g5cZgCN0
— The Leafs Convo (@TheLeafsConvo) November 25, 2019