from Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun,

As much as the Leafs need to deepen and strengthen their roster, they also need to alter the way in which they game. Dubas admitted that much in a media gathering on Monday. He admired what Tampa displayed in winning, how great its truly great players played and competed, how difficult it was to play against the rest of the Lightning team.

In four years of Auston Matthews and friends, the Leafs stars are yet to be giants at playoff time, the rest of its roster yet to be a challenge to play against, have yet to win a playoff or elimination round.

The first step now is making the playoffs. That’s a challenge all by itself in a tightening Eastern Conference. And that’s something we wouldn’t have thought about not so long ago.

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