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Highs & pillows

The Leafs are learning plenty on a six-game road trip

KEVIN MCGRAN

Ahh, the comforts of home.

The Maple Leafs returned home Sunday, having finished a 2-1-1 trip through three time zones with a 6-5 win over the St. Louis Blues on Saturday. They had the day off and, after a couple of practice days, will head back out for games in New York against the Rangers on Wednesday and the Islanders on Saturday.

That’s enough time to get some home cooking, sleep in their own beds and, in the case of Rasmus Sandin, pack a pillow for the remainder of the trip.

“I mean, these road trips are always fun. You get together a lot with your teammates,” Sandin said. “But I’m looking forward to getting home ... I can’t wait to get home to my own bed, my own pillow.”

Your own pillow? “It’s just perfect,” he said, adding that hotel pillows “can be very different. So I need to learn from this and bring my own for the next road trip.”

More than pillows, the Leafs have been learning about themselves on the road. It’s mostly good. The goals keep going in for Auston Matthews, they’re finally going in for Ilya Mikheyev and one even went in for Timothy Liljegren.

Even the coach, Sheldon Keefe, isn’t worried that the theme of the trip — blown leads in Colorado, Vegas and St. Louis — will engulf the team.

“It’s not indicative of who we’ve been all season long,” Keefe said. “Each game has had its different circumstances and I also think we’re just getting back into (the season). Each game has been a different animal.

“I mean, when’s the last time, if ever, Jack Campbell has given up five on (25) shots?”

Now that he mentions it, Campbell has given up 13 goals over his last three games. But he went 2-0-1. And the goals came in spurts, when the team had a few lulls, which Keefe says is understandable coming out of its post-COVID break.

“We actually played quite well (in St. Louis),” Keefe said. “I thought we had a really good third period. Controlled the play. Didn’t give up very much at all. And then it just so happens when you control play like that, a bounce goes your way.”

Keefe is probably right not to worry, because so much is going right. Matthews scored his 25th goal of the season — one off the league lead — and scored for the 10th game in a row on the road.

“He’s done a great job of scoring goals, and it’s been a lot of fun to watch because I’ve been watching a lot of those road games,” linemate Mitch Marner said. “It’s been fun to see him really just take over..”

Marner and Pierre Engvall returned from COVID protocols Saturday, with Marner playing his first game since Jan. 5 and scoring his first goal since Nov. 21.

Ondrej Kaše, Nick Ritchie and Justin Holl are still dealing with protocols, and Holl’s absence ensured Liljegren would be paired with Jake Muzzin against the Blues. They were on the ice for three goals against, but Liljegren got his first NHL goal.

Then there’s the curious case of Mikheyev. He scored the winner on Saturday, and has five goals in the seven games since he has returned from a broken thumb.

Mikheyev scored just seven times last season.

“I can’t say anything is different,” he said. “I am just trying to help the team be better because we want to have progress every game, step by step. I just feel more confident now.”

Keefe agreed. “He works really hard. He wins pucks. He’s got a good skill set to bring the puck up the ice. He puts himself and his linemates in good spots to score. I don’t think there’s a whole lot different going on this season than any of the previous two seasons. He’s just got some better luck.”

SPORTS

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2022-01-17T08:00:00.0000000Z

2022-01-17T08:00:00.0000000Z

https://torontostar.pressreader.com/article/282239488993448

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