TORONTO — Craig Berube was running through the reasons his Maple Leafs team has been so consistent lately. The head coach seemed to lose count.

“We’re healthier, for sure. Goaltending, for sure. We’re more stabilized, I think, with goaltending injuries and stuff early on. We scored goals all year, to be honest. I know the power play hadn’t, but we were scoring. We’re defending a lot better. We’re keeping the puck out of our net and that’s the biggest difference. (The penalty kill) has been good all year,” Berube said.

Once Berube took a breath, the only sound that could be heard was optimism ringing through the streets of Toronto.

Following a 5-0 steamrolling of the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday, the Leafs, for the time being, feel back. Their season no longer looks on the brink as it did when they sank to last place in the Eastern Conference in late December.

The Leafs have not lost in regulation since Dec. 22, when they made their only notable change of the season, firing assistant coach Marc Savard. They own the second-best win percentage (.889) over that nine-game stretch, and are also second in goals per game.

That’s not to say Savard’s firing was the reason the switch seems to have flipped. It’s just that so much of what haunted the Leafs through the ugly months of November and December is no longer evident.

The list of reasons for positivity around this Leafs team is the longest it’s been all season. All of them were accentuated in Saturday’s uber-dominant win.

Yes, the enthusiasm for the Leafs on Saturday should be tempered by the fact that they beat up on a hapless Canucks team. The Canucks’ performance in Toronto made their spot at the bottom of the Western Conference feel generous. When was the last time a visitor’s jersey was thrown onto the ice in Toronto, the way a vintage black Canucks jersey was at the end of their tepid first period?

You can only play the team in front of you, though. The Leafs who walked over the Canucks look nothing like the Leafs who felt one lit match away from exploding in mid-December. As a result, it’s all coming together for the Leafs over this nine-game stretch.

Goaltending? The duo of Joseph Woll and Dennis Hildeby is approaching the elite levels of Woll and Anthony Stolarz from last season. The pair continues to belie Stolarz’s lengthy injury absence.

Woll looked calm and sound in his movements against the Canucks, stopping all 29 shots for his second shutout in five games. This comes after Woll was the backbone of Tuesday’s 4-1 win over the Florida Panthers, stopping 31 of 32 shots. Hildeby has also become a bona fide NHL goalie, rocking a .939 save percentage over his last three games.

Even if Stolarz returns soon from a still-unknown injury, there’s a very real case that neither Woll nor Hildeby should see their opportunities diminish. It’s a good problem to have for Leafs goaltender coach Curtis Sanford. Three strong NHL goalies could bolster Toronto’s playoff chances moving forward.

Star players? Getting points from all of William Nylander, Auston Matthews and John Tavares was rare earlier this year, but that’s what the Leafs got Saturday.

Nylander’s one-goal, three-point performance in his return after a six-game injury layoff was a reminder of how quickly he can turn this team’s fortunes. Even after a dry(ish) spell before his injury, Nylander quickly turned it on against the Canucks. His playmaking was at his all-world best, and the ice was constantly tilted in the Leafs’ favour (84 percent 5-on-5 expected goals, per Natural Stat Trick) when Nylander was on the ice.

WOAH WIILLLYYYYY@OREO | #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/sAlO3sd0kk

— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) January 11, 2026

Tavares desperately needed the second-period goal he scored. He’d cooled from his torrid, early-season pace, scoring just two goals in his last 17 games. Perhaps it’s the sign of things to come.

On top of that, Matthews still looks like he’s back, for real.

Penalty kill? Check. Led by outstanding efforts from Nicolas Roy and Scott Laughton, the Leafs killed all six, yes six, of their penalties Saturday night. This was the first time they did so this season. The Canucks power play isn’t terrible either: 20 percent, 15th in the NHL. However, the Leafs’ strong stick positioning and structure kept their penalty kill as efficient as the Honda Accord my father pushed to 500,000 kilometres.

Power play? The memory of Savard, who once ran the unit, and a league-worst power play is now a distant one. The Leafs once again converted with the man advantage when Nylander fired an incredible cross-ice pass to a waiting Matias Maccelli in front of the Canucks’ goal. Maccelli’s seventh goal of the season sees him in a groove. There’s a continued sense of creativity in their puck movement. Toronto now has a power play goal in five of its last eight games. They’re up to 17.3 percent on the power play, 23rd in the NHL.

Health? While Chris Tanev’s short-term future remains up in the air, getting Brandon Carlo back from injury has given the Leafs’ back end a jolt over the last three games. Carlo was arguably the best Leafs defender against the Canucks, showing more physicality to go with shot-blocking than he ever has as a Leaf.

How about the new dudes? Maccelli looks like a natural fit on the first power play unit. He now has four points in five games, and he’s no longer moving like the weight of expectations is on his shoulders. Roy is anchoring a third line that has become a favourite of Berube and he is in contention for the Leafs’ best penalty killer. Dakota Joshua was even seen at the game and looked to be in good spirits after suffering a lacerated spleen on Dec. 28.

Secondary performers? Early-season questions about the Leafs’ depth are now as faint as whispers. Max Domi had a goal and a fight against the Canucks. Easton Cowan continued to move with an attack mindset and showed the kind of physicality and gusto that will win Berube over. Meanwhile, Nick Robertson continues to play the best hockey of his life, adding the final fifth goal, taking him to 10 goals on the season.

Finally, there are the vibes.

Having been on the Leafs’ three-game road trip toward the end of December through Washington, Nashville and Dallas, it’s worth re-enforcing just how lost this Leafs team looked at the time. The head coach was questioning his team’s effort. The players themselves didn’t show the kind of anger and emotion that should’ve come after continued losses.

On Saturday, though, Scotiabank Arena truly felt like a party.

The buoyancy that was evident through regular seasons over the past few years has returned. Chatter percolated in the Leafs dressing room postgame. Two players loudly discussed the pros and cons of buying an electric vehicle, the way colleagues might when the stresses of work feel far away.

Now comes the real question: Can they keep this up?

The Leafs have one of the toughest remaining schedules in the NHL, and that starts in full next week. Their first three opponents, the Colorado Avalanche, Utah Mammoth and Vegas Golden Knights, are all in playoff positions. That’s not exactly the skidding Winnipeg Jets, Ottawa Senators and Canucks, whom the Leafs have recently smashed.

Not to bring the rain to the proverbial parade, but at 5-on-5 since Dec. 22, the Leafs have logged just 49 percent of the expected goals, per Natural Stat Trick. That’s in the bottom 10 in the NHL. It’s an all-encompassing stat, and there’s nuance required to break down their play over this stretch. At the very least, though, it suggests they haven’t been totally bulletproof.

Whether very good Western Conference teams figure the Leafs out will be part of what defines their season. The Leafs are now one point out of the playoffs. Are they legitimately back for good, and are the playoffs no longer a mirage? Or is there still a gap between them and teams that are playoff locks?

For now, the Leafs have more than enough reasons to feel like it’s the former.