The Toronto Maple Leafs came into this game riding a six-game winning streak; they had dominantly beaten their last six opponents. They hadn’t allowed more than three goals in the last seven games. The last opponent was the Vegas Golden Knights, which was a game that should have been the true test, but with all their injuries, the Colorado Avalanche assumed that role.
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This was the game on the road trip that fans, reporters, and most likely upper management had circled as the game that would be the best test for the Maple Leafs. Well, they didn’t disappoint; they have been playing so well lately, and that was evident against the Avalanche last night. The Maple Leafs fought hard to come back after falling behind early and beat the Avalanche 4-3.
Bert the Birthday Boy
It wasn’t more than a few weeks ago that Tyler Bertuzzi looked lost; he lacked so much confidence and, sadly, couldn’t buy a goal. Last Saturday in the blowout game against the Anaheim Ducks, Auston Matthews helped him get on the board, and it seemed to have sparked his confidence. Flash forward a week; it’s his birthday, and he puts the Maple Leafs on his back. He and his linemates Max Domi and William Nylander have been electric since being put together, which has been a big contributor to his new-found confidence.
Bertuzzi had a huge shot block with a broken stick that had him barely hanging on during his shift. After he got back to the bench, he went straight to the room but later was able to return. He also had the team’s first and second goals, which helped them tie the game after the Avalanche took an early two-goal lead. It could have been a game where the Maple Leafs get blown out; it’s the last game of a long road trip that included three games over four nights.
But Bertuzzi battled and kept his team in it, which could be a preview of what to expect when the playoffs start. He was able to complete the birthday hat-trick on a late third-period power play, which won the Maple Leafs the game. Bertuzzi also becomes the first Maple Leaf in team history to score a hat trick on his birthday.
Beating the “True Test”
The Maple Leafs have won the last seven games after beating the Avalanche, but who were those seven teams? This streak started against the St. Louis Blues on Feb. 13, 4-1; they then beat the Philadelphia Flyers 4-3 in overtime (OT), a blowout win against the Anaheim Ducks 9-2. After the Ducks came a win against the Blues 4-2, and then back-to-back wins against the Arizona Coyotes 6-3 and the Vegas Golden Knights 7-3. Colorado was thought to be the true test on the road trip, and while the Maple Leafs came out on top, they didn’t play their best game. Which makes sense; it was the last game of the road trip that saw three games in four nights.
It should be noted that the Maple Leafs did come back from an early 2-0 hole. They didn’t give up or roll over and quit; they regrouped and battled hard. Typically, in the past, we have seen these styles of games end up being blowouts or ones that the team stopped putting a full effort into by the middle of the second period.
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However, last night we saw a resilient team, which can have a lasting effect on the team going forward. The Maple Leafs improved to 8-2 in February, with only two games remaining in the month, which are against opponents that they played on the road trip, the Coyotes and Golden Knights.
Overall, it wasn’t their best game of the season and probably their worst game of the road trip; however, last night they did all the small things to come back and find a way to win. This is a perfect road trip in terms of record, but also play-wise, they came together as a team after the Morgan Rielly suspension, and it has impacted the team. This could be the moment that fans look back on as the most important road trip of the season, the one that helped them secure their playoff stop.