BUFFALO, N.Y. ā Come April, the Toronto Maple Leafs will once again have to confront the long-nagging questions of how theyāll attempt to avoid turning a dominating regular season into yet another early playoff exit.
A promising glimpse of an answer, perhaps, began to emerge over a four-day stretch in which the Maple Leafs won two of three with a new-look lineup featuring centers Ryan OāReilly and Noel Acciari, who were acquired in a trade with St. Louis.
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With OāReilly centering Torontoās second line, and Acciari centering the fourth line, their presence provided coach Sheldon Keefe an extra level of flexibility and an additional dynamic dimension to a talent-laden roster that already includes four 20-goal-scorers.
Torontoās newfound potential was on display in a 6-3 romp over the Sabres on Tuesday, when the OāReilly line combined for four goals and 13 points, and staked the Leafs to a 3-0 lead 7:14 into the game before Buffalo registered its first shot on net.
āObviously, it was that line that broke out tonight. The next night it might be the Matthewsā line,ā Keefe said, referring to the top line centered by Auston Matthews. āBut as I said to the guys, thatās what it is supposed to look like in terms of a team game. ... Thatās as dominant as weāve been all season long, so itās tremendous to see.ā
The challenge for Keefe becomes building on that performance and continuing to develop roster-wide chemistry to finally begin fulfilling the long-awaited expectations of mounting a playoff run that doesnāt end in the first round.
The Maple Leafs have not won a playoff series since 2004, when they needed seven games to eliminate Ottawa before losing to Philadelphia in a six-game second-round matchup. Theyāve since lost seven consecutive first-round series mostly in dramatic collapses, including six ending in a decisive Game 5 or 7.
The frustrating track record is one general manager Kyle Dubas alluded to after completing the trade on Friday in giving up four draft picks, including a first-rounder this year, two minor leaguers and a prospect in a deal that included Minnesota picking up 25% of OāReillyās salary.
āWeāve been in the top five of the standings, and weāre there again this year,ā Dubas said of a team thatās finished no worse than third in its division in each of the previous six years. āSo thereās a lot of points along the way, and people will laugh at that, scoff at that, and thatās fine. Weāre trying to win. And thatās the message.ā
At 35-15-8, the Leafsā 78 points match their best through 58 games of a season, and they are second in the Atlantic Division. With division-leading Boston enjoying a 13-point lead over the Maple Leafs entering Wednesday, Toronto appears locked into facing Tampa Bay in a rematch of last yearās opening round, which the Lightning clinched in Game 7 by rallying from a 3-2 series deficit.
The trade for OāReilly was the latest in a string of high-profile mid-to-late season additions the Leafs have made which have failed to pan out come playoff time. Last year, it was adding defenseman Mark Giordano. Two years ago, Toronto acquired center Nick Foligno. In 2020, Dubas landed defenseman Jake Muzzin.
And those donāt include the offseason free-agent splashes the Leafs made in signing Patrick Marleau in 2017 or current captain John Tavares a year later.
OāReilly, in the final year of his contract, represents the short-term key to the trade. Heās a respected two-way center, who was the NHLās top defensive forward in 2019, the same year OāReilly earned playoff MVP honors for the Stanley Cup champion Blues.
From Ontario, and with his mother having once worked the concession stands at Maple Leaf Gardens, the 32-year-old OāReilly is fully aware of the pressures of playing in Toronto and what it would mean to bring home a title.
āWe have a ton of good pieces here and itās a great team,ā OāReilly said, while declining to look too far ahead.
āIāve got to take it day by day and work and push myself to be better, and try to help elevate this team to take another step,ā he added. āIāve got so much excitement being here. ... Iām just going to feed off that and try to make an impact any way I can.ā
In welcoming OāReilly, Tavares agreed to make the switch from center to left wing on a line rounded out by Mitchell Marner.
āWhen Kyle and management make a move like that, obviously it sends a strong message,ā Tavares said. āThe belief in the team, and what we want to accomplish, and just where weāve gotten to to this point, so weāre really excited about it.ā
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