Maple Leafs rise to tops in NHL with statement win over Avalanche

All bangers, all the time.

These days, Toronto Maple Leafs games would fit nicely on Kendall Roy’s approved playlist for his 40th birthday bash.

Everything they touch is lit and loud and blends right into another crowd-pleaser.

Road games, homes games, tight ones, back-to-backs, blowouts… it’s all good.

No skips. Just heat.

The arrival of Nazem Kadri’s Colorado Avalanche combined with the return of perennial MVP candidate Nathan MacKinnon (lower body) combined with a lingering case of Leafs jetlag had positioned Wednesday’s showdown of the hottest team in the East versus the hottest team in the West as (gasp) a potential Stanley Cup preview.

“It’s possible to maybe see both these teams in the end. That could definitely be a possibility,” Kadri said in a pregame sit-down with Christine Simpson.

Both sides burn around an in-their-prime nucleus of Olympic hopefuls and elite offensive minds. Yet both have wilted to their postseason demons so often that springtime is beginning to feel more like a threat than a promise. (Toronto’s nemesis is Round 1; Colorado’s is Round 2.)

Undisputedly, these are excellent regular-season teams. So, it comes as no surprise that both rooms are speaking more about developing winning habits and asserting their stamp on each contest than they are about their place in the standings.

Leafs captain John Tavares surveyed at the Avalanche and saw “our toughest test.”

Coach Sheldon Keefe welcomed MacKinnon back with open arms: “We like to play against the best. We should be excited by the opportunity to compete against him.”

Well, if Wednesday was a measuring stick for the ride, the Maple Leafs’ 8-3 victory proved them plenty tall enough to ride the Yukon Striker. Maybe without a seatbelt.

“I see a well-rounded team now,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said of his opponent.

“I feel a real strong commitment to manage the puck properly, real good support of one another through all three zones. It’s tough to find a lot of room and space in the D-zone, so [the Leafs are] committed in that regard. And still very dangerous offensively, whether it’s on the rush, O-zone play, power play, all those things that they’ve always had. But I think playing away from the puck is much improved, and it looks like a better buy-in from them.”

Tavares concurs: “We’ve been really consistent over the last little while with the way we’re defending and just the mindset and the attitude.”

The Leafs proved it against the best offence in the league, getting clutch saves from Jack Campbell that have grown routine and pushing back two times stronger when the Avs tried to claw out of an early 3-0 deficit.

Toronto balanced its attack, getting goals from all four lines, plus defenceman Travis Dermott, a frequent scratch who picked a fine time for his first of the season.

So this William Nylander guy is pretty good huh? ????

The @MapleLeafs take an early 1-0 lead over the Avs thanks to a pretty Nylander goal. ???? pic.twitter.com/1T2YGQzI4m

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) December 2, 2021

Travis Dermott's first of the year couldn't come at a better time. ????#NHLOnSN | @MapleLeafs pic.twitter.com/xHYp3l98mv

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) December 2, 2021

The William Nylander–Tavares–Alexander Kerfoot trio was stellar.

Better was the now-moustache-free Auston Matthews, who extended his goal streak to six in four games with a pair of handsy layups in tight off Mitch Marner passes and a patented post-in wrister off a left wing rush to complete the hat trick.

That's just filthy, @AM34. #NHLOnSN | @MapleLeafs pic.twitter.com/aRr2AKaa5J

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) December 2, 2021

The shot was almost refreshing, since it seems like all the 6-foot-3, 205-pounder does lately is post up like Patrick Ewing in the blue paint and wait to get fed.

“He’s a big guy. Strong. He competes for ice and gets a stick available. So, he’s a lot to handle for sure. He’s scored a lot of goals from that space over his career,” Keefe said of Matthews’ net-front presence.

“It has gotten him moving here 5-on-5, but he is who he is because he scores goals in multiple ways. You shut him down one way, he adjusts and finds another. That’s what great goal scorers do.”

Everything about this @MapleLeafs goal is just silly. pic.twitter.com/KjQiRlgPzF

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) December 2, 2021

Gotta See It: No moustache? No problem.

Auston Matthews releases a scorcher of a shot to net his 4th career @NHL hat trick. ????????????

Presented by @Charmin | #EnjoyTheGo pic.twitter.com/pe5VrKkNYG

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) December 2, 2021

Here is what great hockey teams do: win 15 of 17 games, outscore the opposition 26-6 over a five-game streak, and climb to the top of the NHL standings.

The mission in the Leafs dressing room these days, Keefe says, is to strive “to go 1-0 every night.”

To not dwell on the past or get caught daydreaming about the future.

If you allow yourself to dance in the now — to not trip up on what-happened and what-ifs — all you’ll hear is bangers.

All the time.