TORONTO — It’s been akin to digging for gold in the dark, this effort of trying to find bright spots in the final weeks of the Toronto Maple Leafs’ campaign.
The weight of the big picture looms large over this group. The disappointment of a season gone sideways, the off-season of change that waits at the end of the line. But these past few days, with the Maple Leafs’ loved ones by their side for the team’s annual mentors trip, the club found a reprieve from the cloud that’s been hanging over them since the Olympic break.
Fresh off a win in Boston on Tuesday, the Maple Leafs returned home and closed out a back-to-back with a 4-3 victory over the New York Rangers under the Scotiabank Arena lights Wednesday — the team’s first two-game win streak in nearly two months, and their second straight win with the mentors watching on.
“It was a fun couple games,” veteran Jake McCabe said late Wednesday from the club’s locker room — usually empty, this time packed with family and friends happily milling about. “You know, it’s been tough sledding around here, so it’s nice to collect some points over these last couple games.”
The 32-year-old played a key role in spurring the eventual win, wiring home a rebound to pot Toronto’s first goal of the night, his first tally since November.
“It’s funny. My kids were giving me a hard time today — they said, ‘Dad, you never score goals. When are you going to score a goal?’” McCabe recalled with a chuckle. “So, nice to get one, especially in the first period when I know they’re still up watching. Looking forward to seeing them in the morning, their reaction.”
Dakota Joshua assisted on the goal and picked up one of his own in the second period to put Toronto up 3-0. It meant a bit more, he said, with his younger brother Bishop in the building.
“It was nice to show out for him tonight,” Joshua said. “Maybe a trip down memory lane, from when I was a lot younger and he used to come out and watch. So yeah, that was nice to get one for him.”
The change in the atmosphere around the club these past few days has been palpable, the winger said — and welcome, given the particularly rocky few months the team’s been wading through.
“It’s been good energy, very upbeat all around. Everybody wants to make their person that they brought proud — it’s been a great few days,” he said. “Obviously the season hasn’t gone the way we wanted it to — personally, or as a team. But you know, it’s important to build some momentum here towards the end and feel good about your performances at the end of the season.”
“Obviously it’s been a grind for us, coming back from the break, and certainly where we’re at,” added John Tavares, whose own late goal wound up the eventual game-winner. “But you know, a different type of energy coming into the last couple days. To grind one out here after a good rivalry win yesterday, playing hard in front of our fans, and with the support of people who made a tremendous impact on our lives, has been great.
“It wasn’t always pretty, but for the most part, the process of just being difficult to play against, doing what you have to do to put yourself in a good spot, was there.”
It was an odd one for the home club, as many of the tilts in this building have been this season. The Maple Leafs built up a 3-0 lead heading into the midway point of the game, getting goals from McCabe, Joshua and Nick Robertson. Meanwhile, they also found themselves outshot 31-14 after two periods, Toronto managing only four shots in the middle frame.
A pair of power-play goals in the second period wobbled the hosts, and another late push in the third nearly saw the Rangers pull level, Mika Zibanejad scoring with seven minutes left to pull the visitors within one. But the blue-and-white held on, staved off the comeback attempt, and finished the mentors trip on a high.
“I could tell early on we were lacking a little juice tonight,” head coach Craig Berube said after the dust settled on the win. “You know, travel, tough game in Boston, used all that energy up. And I felt like we weren’t thinking very good out there tonight. That happens. But the guys worked, and competed, and our goalie was really good.
“We executed on some plays and scored, on a very good goalie. That’s the difference in the game. … Guys battled hard.”
There are plenty outside of their locker room who would have these Maple Leafs lose every game from here on out, plummet down the standings in order to save face on draft day. But for those who have to take the ice for nine more games, that appears to be a tough sell. Though there will almost certainly be no playoff hockey coming at the end of the line here, no late redemption to be found, there is still pride to play for — all the more so on nights like these, with family and friends in the building.
And so the Maple Leafs are still playing, still trying to find something in this write-off campaign, if nothing more than a couple days of levity.
“You know, our mindset is to play as well as we can,” said netminder Joseph Woll, who turned aside 40 shots in this one. “And give our team a chance every night.”