from Chris Johnston of Sportsnet,
Needing some kind of answer following the ugliest four-game stretch of their season, the ill and injured Maple Leafs showed that they’re capable of playing an air-tight, playoff-friendly style of game.
Forget for a moment that they lost 3-0 to the Nashville Predators here on Tuesday. That’s very much secondary to getting their game into some kind of shape to match up with the Boston Bruins three weeks from now, and this was a forceful step in the right direction.
"I think we can be a lot more proud of the effort we had on defence and the opportunities we gave up," said Auston Matthews. "We definitely narrowed that down."
It was the second stingiest of 73 games this season — with just 20 shots and 13 scoring chances against (according to naturalstattrick.com). That’s bested only by a 19-shot, eight-chance game against Dallas all the way back on Nov. 1....
"I really liked our team tonight," said Babcock. "It would be a game you’d like to win because you thought the team put in the effort and did things right and stayed patient. To me, it’s just the process. If you do good things, good things happen.
"This was a real good step for us, especially after the week we just had."
Catch the game highlights below.
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