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It was a pleasant sight for the majority of the Key Bank Center faithful wearing Blue and White to witness (for a change), as the Toronto Maple uncharacteristically won in Buffalo 3-0 on Saturday, avenging one of their worst outings of the season in December.
It was not only retribution for goalie Ilya Samsonov, who made 34 saves for his third shutout of the season in the building that saw his worst performance during his bout with a broken psyche, it saw Auston Matthews tie the franchise record with his 60th goal of the season.
The Leafs have nine games left in the season and in a sense control their own fate when it comes to who they will play in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, as they open the consequential month of April against the Florida Panthers at Scotiabank Arena. Toronto is in the middle of a standings no-man’s land in the Eastern Conference, six points behind the Panthers with one game in hand, and four points ahead of Tampa Bay for third place in the Atlantic.
Of their remaining nine games, the Leafs play nearly half against the two Sunshine State foes, which means if they win all of them, they could conceivably move as high as second place in the division and earn home ice advantage in the first round. If they lose all or most of them, Toronto could slip into the first wildcard spot and play the division winner with the lowest amount of points.
Head coach Sheldon Keefe indicated after the morning skate on Monday that he will go with the same lineup that won in Buffalo on Saturday. Defenseman Morgan Rielly is making progress in recuperating from a minor injury and skated for the first time on Monday, and is considered day-to-day. Mitch Marner, who was shifted from IR to LTIR on Saturday to enable the Leafs to call up Marshall Rifai as an extra defenseman, is close to returning and could return as soon as Wednesday against Tampa Bay.
Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • 
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