from Jonas Siegel of TSN,

“Started from the bottom, now we’re here,” blared the popular Drake tune from the Maple Leafs celebratory dressing room on Sunday night.

It was perhaps fitting for the team’s path so far this season – from the very bottom of the Eastern Conference at the end of October, and a dreadful place at the end of last season, to a more respectable position today or here as Toronto’s top hit-maker put it.

Among Eastern teams only the Capitals, Panthers and Red Wings have collected more points than the Leafs since the start of November. Toronto owns a 12-7-5 in that span and has the league’s fourth-best goal-differential, outscoring foes 66-57.

The club has topped quality teams like Dallas (twice), Nashville, St. Louis, Los Angeles and now New York, which has one of the league’s top records so far this season.

“I think we’ve learned to work hard,” Mike Babcock, the Leafs head coach, said after a 3-1 win over the Islanders, the club’s third win in the past four games. “I think we’ve learned to play well without the puck. And then suddenly we have the puck way more and it’s a way more fun game to play. That’s what we kind of been preaching and I think the guys feel pretty good about themselves.”

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Below, watch the game highlights...