After this season's slumps, managerial shuffling and trade speculation, the Toronto Maple Leafs have settled down to play some quality hockey.
It remains to be seen if the surging Leafs can pull a playoff berth out of the hat.
Maple Leafs forward Nik Antropov has scored four goals in his last three games.
(J.P. Moczulski/Canadian Press)
The Leafs host the Eastern Conference-leading New Jersey Devils on Saturday in what could be the toughest contest left on their schedule (CBC, 7 p.m. ET).
Toronto has lost all three matchups with New Jersey this season, including a 4-1 defeat on Tuesday.
With coach Paul Maurice comparing his team to the NFL's New York Giants earlier this week, though, the Leafs seem to believe they can pull off another upset.
Beginning with a Feb. 2 defeat of the then-mighty Ottawa Senators, the Leafs have consistently outperformed the NHL's best clubs, beating the league-leading Detroit Red Wings, the Montreal Canadiens, the Senators (twice) and the Boston Bruins (also twice).
Their last upset came Thursday against the seventh-place Bruins, an 8-2 trouncing that marked the Leafs' best offensive tally of the season.
Eight skaters had multipoint games, including Nik Antropov (two goals) and Jason Blake (one goal, three assists), as the Leafs posted their seventh win in 10 outings.
"I think it's something all of us believed in," left-winger Alex Steen said after the game. "We've certainly kept the faith and believed we can make the playoffs. The last five weeks or so, we've played pretty solid hockey."
The victory pulled Toronto into 12th place in the East. With a mark of 30-29-10, Toronto is six points shy of the Philadelphia Flyers, who hold the eighth and final playoff spot in the East.
But as the postseason looms, the Leafs have their work cut out for them. Nine of their last 13 games are against one of the top eight teams in the Eastern Conference.
The Leafs risk missing the playoffs for the third consecutive season, an embarrassment the franchise has avoided since 1925.
Getting past Brodeur
On Saturday, the Leafs can avenge their only regulation loss in their past seven games.
Toronto outshot New Jersey 42-25 on Tuesday, but only Antropov could put the puck past veteran Martin Brodeur.
The Leafs have always had trouble against Brodeur, who has limited them to five goals in three games this season for a 1.67 goals-against average. The Devils netminder is having one of the better seasons of his career, boasting 36 wins and a 2.15 GAA overall.
The Devils (39-23-6) have allowed fewer goals (159) than any other team in the Eastern Conference.
They've won seven of their last 10 games, including a 2-1 overtime win at Tampa Bay on Friday, to pull into the No. 1 spot in the East for only the second time this season.
Winger Patrik Elias registered an assist and the overtime goal on Friday.
The Leafs will look to Antropov and captain Mats Sundin to find holes in the notoriously stingy Devils defence. Antropov has a modest three-game goal-scoring streak, and Sundin has racked up six goals and seven assists in seven games.
With files from the Associated Press
