{"id":406460,"date":"2026-01-13T13:03:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T13:03:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/406460\/"},"modified":"2026-01-13T13:03:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T13:03:12","slug":"west-will-be-the-stiffest-of-tests-for-maple-leafs-in-tough-schedule","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/406460\/","title":{"rendered":"West will be the stiffest of tests for Maple Leafs in tough schedule"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Published Jan 11, 2026 \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 Last updated 1\u00a0day ago \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 4 minute read<\/p>\n

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\"matthewsAuston Matthews versus Nathan MacKinnon is the marquee matchup when the Maple Leafs open a four-game western swing on Monday in Denver against the Avalanche. Photo by Christopher Katsarov \/THE CANADIAN PRESSArticle content<\/p>\n

When number-crunching nerds assess the degree of difficulty by strength of schedule, they had this trip in mind when dimming the Maple Leafs playoff odds.<\/p>\n

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Winding west through Colorado, Utah and Las Vegas, this week includes the respective league runaway leaders, the top club in the Pacific Division (with its noted ex-Leaf) and another wild-card threat that has won three straight. And the Winnipeg Jets, with back-to-back wins, may have woken up and could tame Toronto \u2014 6-10-2 on the road this season \u2014 by the time it drives through Portage and Main on the way home.<\/p>\n

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Our game-by-game breakdown of this week\u2019s games:<\/p>\n

Monday, Leafs at Colorado (33-4-7), 10 p.m. EST<\/p>\n

From an all-systems-go 5-0 win over the Vancouver Canucks<\/a> on Saturday, bringing their record to 22-17-5, the Leafs draw the best regular-season juggernaut in five decades on Monday. The Avalanche\u2019s plus-83 goal differential through its first 44 games is the highest since the heyday of Wayne Gretzky\u2019s Oilers in 1983-84.<\/p>\n

With their envious home record of 19-0-2, this likely spells the end of Toronto\u2019s nine-game points streak, after it fought within one point of finally gaining its own wild-card position.<\/p>\n

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\u201cA really good test for us,\u201d said understated Leafs coach Craig Berube. \u201cAll aspects of our game will be important, defending well and special teams.\u201d<\/p>\n

Who does Berube circle first on the whiteboard of Avs lines for this game? Or just all of them?<\/p>\n

Nathan MacKinnon is the NHL goal leader with 36, the Avs occupy six of the seven top places in league plus\/minus, Cale Makar tops all defencemen in points and goalie Mackenzie Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood hold the best goals-against averages.<\/p>\n

Match Game: Auston Matthews<\/a> vs. Nathan MacKinnon<\/p>\n

When Matthews faced Connor McDavid of the Oilers last month, the co-league points leader with MacKinnon, it was no contest. Matthews has upped his game considerably since and this might even be an Olympic preview in Milan if Canada and the U.S. advance.<\/p>\n

Tuesday, Leafs at Utah (22-20-3), 10 p.m. EST<\/p>\n

Toronto\u2019s first game against the re-named Mammoth will have zero preparation on the back-to-back. Like the Leafs, Utah has coalesced since Christmas to stay in playoff contention and has allowed the third-fewest shots in the league per game (25.4) prior to playing Columbus on Sunday.<\/p>\n

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Expect Dennis Hildeby in net after Joseph Woll faces the Avs and if the lineup versus the Avs stays the same as Vancouver, there\u2019ll likely be a change on forward or defence with Calle Jarnkrok or Philippe Myers.<\/p>\n

Match Game: Winger Matias Maccelli vs. Utah coach Andre Tourigny<\/p>\n

Maccelli spent 224 games in Utah and before that with the Arizona Coyotes. He was a mid-season scratch last year as Tourigny challenged him to be a better two-way player, something Berube did as well, benching Maccelli before he hit stride in recent games.<\/p>\n

The Finn, who was acquired for a third-round pick in June, has just been promoted to the first power-play unit, further boosting his ego.<\/p>\n

\u201cI played with most of those guys for four years,\u201d Maccelli said of his return. \u201cIt will be fun to go back, but there\u2019s no friends out there now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thursday, Leafs at Las Vegas (20-11-12), 9:30 p.m. EST<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the game that Mitch Marner\u2019s supporters and detractors have eyed since the schedule came out, though his bigger Bay Street homecoming won\u2019t be until the following week.<\/p>\n

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But its impact on playoff seedings for each club should take real precedence. The Knights play the Sharks and Kings on the road before Toronto arrives and as a back-to-back for Marner\u2019s club, don\u2019t expect the Toronto franchise\u2019s sixth-leading scorer providing much pre-game print about why things soured at the end of his hometown tenure.<\/p>\n

The Leafs can\u2019t ignore Jack Eichel or Mark Stone among the six Knights who\u2019ve scored in double figures. Meanwhile, centre Nicolas Roy\u2019s yeoman work for the Leafs as a return on the Marner trade is a good story, too.<\/p>\n

Match Game: Marner vs. Max Domi<\/p>\n

Domi is Marner\u2019s successor as first-line right winger, though it did take Berube quite a while to settle on him and maybe it\u2019s not permanent.<\/p>\n

Marner has 17 points in his past 13 games, but scant power-play production of late, while Toronto\u2019s top unit laboured through the first half without him. Regardless of what happens in both reunion games, playoffs for both clubs would better evaluate the Marner factor.<\/p>\n

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Saturday, Leafs at Winnipeg (16-22-5), 7 p.m. EST<\/p>\n

The Jets\u2019 11-game losing streak, including 6-5 to the Leafs on New Year\u2019s Day in a dramatic third-period collapse, is now a two-game winning streak and plays in Minnesota before the Leafs arrive, both teams getting a full day off to prepare for this.<\/p>\n

Mark Scheifele scored twice against the Kings and is up to 22 goals, but that previous skid and the large gap opened by Colorado, Dallas and Minnesota in the Central Division might already have doomed the Jets.<\/p>\n

Match Game: Connor Hellebuyck vs. William Nylander<\/p>\n

Both didn\u2019t play the last time as Matthews beat up on Eric Comrie with a hat trick, and Nylander was hurt. The much-decorated Hellebuyck, Matthews\u2019 Team USA Olympic mate, must prove on his record of 8-10-3 record versus Toronto, with a .904 save percentage.<\/p>\n

lhornby@postmedia.com
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