Ex-NHL head coach makes his feelings known about Toronto Maple Leafs playoff expectations

Former NHL head coach Bruce Boudreau shared his thoughts on the Toronto Maple Leafs' performance and playoff expectations on NHL Network on Thursday. He praised the Leafs for their depth and strong defense and that they were able to win without key players.

“They just went 7-2 without Matthews, Knies, Pacioretty, Jarnkrok, Reaves. They had seven players missing and still went 7-2 in that stretch. They are deep, they’re good,” Boudreau said (starting at 8:45).

William Nylander leads with 16 goals. Mitch Marner has 27 assists and 36 points. Auston Matthews, back from injury, scored two goals in a win over the Predators and has three in the last two games.

Boudreau also mentioned the Leafs’ good defensive play and solid goaltending.

“They’re playing such good defensive hockey, and their goaltending is underrated. Stolarz and Woll have been a great duo,” he said.

The Maple Leafs are currently 16-7-2, tied for first place in the Atlantic Division with 34 points. They average 3.08 goals per game and allow 2.52 goals. Their penalty kill ranks 6th in the league at 82.8%, but their power play is 18th at 20%.

"I hope the Leaf fans don't get disappointed again this year but they're starting to get their hopes up once again." Boudreau said.

While the Leafs are doing well, Boudreau noted that some players still aren’t scoring as much as expected. However, he is confident about their playoff preparation and said they have learned to play playoff-style hockey.

(8:12)".... they're winning a lot of games but this is playoff hockey that they've learned to play from the beginning of the season..... this team will be much better prepared to go into the playoffs," he said.

The Maple Leafs have won seven of their last eight games and 10 of their last 12. Their recent wins include victories over the Capitals (4-3) and Oilers (4-3). The team is showing a good balance of offense and defense.

Maple Leafs' third period play helped in win over Predators

The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Nashville Predators 3-2 with three third-period goals at Scotiabank Arena. William Nylander praised his teammates for the win.

“Mitch and Auston kind of took over there and made a great play and got us going,” Nylander said.

Jonathan Marchessault scored first for Nashville at 5:26 of the first period after a lucky bounce off the boards. Auston Matthews tied it 1-1 just 31 seconds into the third, redirecting a pass from Mitch Marner. Matthews scored again at 2:29, taking Marner’s drop pass and slipping the puck between Juuse Saros’ pads.

William Nylander made it 3-1 at 5:06 with a power-play goal from a no-look backhand pass by Matthew Knies. Mark Jankowski cut it to 3-2 at 16:38 with a rebound goal. Joseph Woll made 22 saves, helping Toronto secure the win.