Recent rough stretch could prove helpful for Maple Leafs

The Toronto Maple Leafs snapped a losing skid Monday night with a 6-2 win over the Calgary Flames. Captain Auston Matthews had a two-goal effort, William Nylander had a three-point night and Joseph Woll stopped 24 shots in the effort.

On Tuesday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Tyler Yaremchuk is joined by former NHL goalie Carter Hutton to discuss the Maple Leafs’ win over the Flames and if Toronto’s recent string of losses may benefit them in the long run.

Tyler Yaremchuk: There’s been a lot of talk about whether the Leafs line up better with the Lightning or the Panthers, or if they can win the division, how will they match up with the Senators?

There’s a part of me, as much as this might not make sense, I think a really tough test in Round 1 might be a blessing in disguise. If they’re the No. 1 seed taking on Ottawa, I’m sure the percentages will say they have a much better chance of advancing, but I think we’ve seen this team be in that spot before, like the Canadian COVID-19 division against the Montreal Canadiens.

I think this team could benefit from a little bit of a jolt like playing a team like Tampa Bay, where they have to have their stuff together for Round 1.

Carter Hutton: I think that’s important, too. The other thing I take away from this little struggle for them is that I think it’s good to go through this. We’ve seen it so many times where we look back to the Boston Bruins, who ran the table in 2022-23 then were eliminated in the first round by the Panthers.

I think dealing with that and finding where you need to be to play playoff hockey is going to be important. They can exercise some demons in the first round, going out and being confident with how they play.

You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode here…