CALGARY — Troy Stecher pumped both his fists repeatedly as he skated towards the Maple Leafs bench. The defenceman had just scored a second period goal to give his team a commanding 3-0 lead over the Calgary Flames.

Yet it didn’t feel like Stecher was proud of just the goal. As the swaggering 31-year-old began nodding his head in front of his teammates, you could sense the Leafs’ own self-belief growing. Stecher’s goal gave the Leafs a lead they would not relinquish and confidence in their playoff possibilities that a week ago, felt long gone.

Stecher kept pumping his fists and building momentum in his own way.

“We have the belief, that’s all that matters,” Stecher said declaratively following the Leafs’ 4-2 win over the Calgary Flames.

After a demoralizing six-game losing streak that looked to have ended their playoff chances, the Leafs now appear to have life. They grabbed an early lead in the aging Scotiabank Saddledome and held on even as the Flames mounted a comeback in the second period. The win was the Leafs’ second straight and put them seven points out of a playoff spot, just ahead of the Florida Panthers in the hunt.

Around the Leafs dressing room, the belief in their playoff chances is real.

“The (Eastern Conference) is tight, man,” Stecher said. “You don’t want to look too far ahead but I think we’ve got 18 games against our conference after the break. So, there’s a lot of belief in that room and a lot of hockey still left to play.”

For all the seeds of belief sown through western Canada, there is still a pressing question coming out of Monday’s win, which followed the Leafs just barely getting past the last-place Vancouver Canucks in a shootout win on Saturday: Will this pair of wins change how the Leafs approach one of their most pivotal and revealing trade deadlines in years?

The Leafs started strong against the Flames. John Tavares cleverly snapped William Nylander free on a breakaway just 30 seconds into the first period for the Leafs first goal. Their third goal featured some of the most dynamic passing in recent memory. Nylander, Auston Matthews and Oliver Ekman-Larsson had Flames defenders spinning as they whipped the puck around before Stecher finished with his third goal as a Leaf.

T as in TROY STECHER! @OREO | #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/tns86KK8jt

— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) February 3, 2026

Joseph Woll again proved that he’s capable of taking the Leafs on his back, stopping 28 of 30 shots including some late-game heroics.

And without Morgan Rielly, multiple Leafs blueliners put up impressive defensive performances, highlighted by Brandon Carlo and Jake McCabe.

The Leafs game did lag late, as sloppiness crept in before Bobby McMann sealed the win with an empty net goal.

“In certain moments, it tests you more than other moments,” McCabe said. “When you’re on a losing streak, it wears on you. It’s not like guys aren’t trying. It’s just an uphill battle.”

Monday was the kind of win that, had it occurred early in the season, would have the Leafs looking and sounding like contenders.

But these are not normal circumstances. The last two wins came against the bottom of a 32-team league against two teams whose amateur scouts are among the most important people in their respective organizations as they look to find the next faces of their franchises in this summer’s draft.

The Flames are the lowest-scoring team in the NHL. And they owned the majority of the 5-on-5 shot attempts and expected goals in all three periods, per Natural Stat Trick.

Forgetting all of the above could be hazardous to Leafs management.

As the Leafs finalize their trade deadline approach, considering the context of these recent wins must be paramount. Winning in a shootout over the worst team in hockey and just barely holding onto a lead against a rebuilding Flames team does not scream “Stanley Cup contender.” The Leafs have won two of the three games on this road trip and deserve credit for that. But that shouldn’t cloud MLSE’s decision on the direction of this team.

Still, it would be understandable to see Leafs management wait until the 11th hour to begin selling. After the lengthy Olympic break, the Leafs have three straight games against division rivals: the Tampa Bay Lightning, who seem likely to wrap up the Atlantic Division title, the Florida Panthers, desperate to get back into the playoffs, and the equally-desperate Ottawa Senators. Maybe the Leafs’ true identity will be revealed then.

Because the Leafs’ true identity remains difficult to see. They still appear closer to the team that weathered an earlier six-game losing streak than the one that toppled the league-leading Colorado Avalanche in an emotional win last month. These last four points don’t tell the whole story.

Will Leafs management be persuaded by their team’s last two performances? Or will they see through these performances as outliers from a team that clearly requires a full off-season of re-working?

Inside the dressing room, the Leafs themselves likely see only one answer.

“It’s only two (wins), we’ve got a ways to go. We’ll build off that but keep our minds focused on what we have to do,” Nylander said.