Toronto Maple Leafs

Surging Leafs look to climb the ladder in Columbus
March 22, 2017, 10:26 AM ET [332 Comments]
Lucas Neilson
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It’s yet another huge day in Leafs Nation!

The Maple Leafs are coming off another win and a dandy at that as they took care of the Boston Bruins for the fourth time this season and completed the season sweep. Get out the brooms and take out the trash!

I’ve heard some rumblings from fans and the media that it was a playoff atmosphere against the Bruins this Monday. The truth is I’ve felt like the last few games have been just that. Ever since the Leafs got thumped by the Panthers last Tuesday they have elevated their game and the results are showing.

Since the Leafs stuck it to Tampa Bay they have slid off a cliff losing three straight and are now four points back of the Leafs and have played one game more.

As you know the Buds took care of the Bruins earlier this week with a clutch win. Which in turn left the Bruins to deal with the Senators last night on a back-to-back, and again they lost in regulation for their third straight loss.

What a beautiful day in Leaf land for the boys to take over the third seed in the Atlantic!

If Toronto can steal two points from a red hot Columbus Blue Jackets team they will leapfrog Boston and be sitting pretty with ten games left in the season.

Odds are the Leafs will be facing the hottest goaltender in the league tonight, Sergei Bobrovsky. “Bob” has been a workhorse this season, avoiding any major injuries (which have plagued his stats in the past). He’s got 39 wins on the season and has a .931 save percentage. Very elite numbers and a big reason as to why the Blue Jackets are 47-18-5 and have 100 total points. The Jackets are 21-9-5 at home and have won four straight games. They have a legit chance of placing first in the Eastern Conference as they are just two points back of the Capitals and one point back of the Penguins, but have tonight’s game in hand.

With that being said you can bet Columbus will want to win tonight just as bad as our beloved Leafs.

There were some great moments against the Bruins earlier this week.

Personally I loved what the fourth line brought against the Bruins. Martin was fierce, laying hits, stirring it up and when he and Chara both took a penalty; that’s a quality trade off that any coach will be happy about. Soshnikov did a great job at irritating the opposition, even if he did have a questionable hit against Bergeron. Maybe next time Patrice will take a simple hit instead of turning into the boards and putting himself in a vulnerable position.

And then there was Marchand…

Diving, crying, chirping, you know, the regular crap we expect. I did happen to enjoy the chirping he, Leo and Soshnikov had going on the bench. As great as it was, nothing was better than Bozak saddling up beside Uncle Leo hearing the feedback between the two war animals.

I guess it was enough to settle down Bozie’s nerves as he buried a huge goal for Toronto in the dying minutes of the third period on the power play. That was a full blown celebration, one of those ones you don’t really control how you celebrate; or maybe that was just me relishing the glory.

Both Rask and Andersen were very sharp in that game, and if the Leafs want to upset the Blue Jackets tonight they will have to hope Freddie is able to continue his dominance that has been taking place as the season winds down. He’s been phenomenal for a good chunk of the season and is a huge reason as to why the Leafs are positioned where they are.

Get your lucky shirts, jerseys, hats, boxers, whatever it may be. It’s game day, let’s get her going!!

Thanks for reading, happy hump day and enjoy tonight’s game!