Three positives to take from Toronto Map

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It may only be Feb. 3, but the NHL's 2019-20 season is rapidly coming to a close and, therefore, the fight for playoff positions is ramping up.On Monday, the Toronto Maple Leafs hosted the Florida Panthers in a tilt that saw a pair ofteams separated by just two points for the third spotin the Atlantic Division.By the end of 60 minutes, the  Brayden Tracey Kids Jersey Leafs had fallen 5-3 and were on the outside of the playoff picture looking in.Toronto lost to a team . Itlost goaltender Frederik Andersen after the first period when he (hewas cleared, held out the rest of the contest for precautionary reasons and is now day- Jackson Lacombe Jersey to-daywith a neck injury) and it failed to capture a much-needed boost in the standings.Still, there werereasons for continued optimism. The Leafs dominated from puck drop to the final buzzer andled by twoearly in the third period at Scotiabank Arena. Ashead coach Sheldon Keefe put it, this was a game they played well enough to come away with."If we play that type of game 100 times, we probably win 99 of them," Keefe said."But you don't get the points and that hurts."He added:"The result sucks, right? I don't think the result is in any way indicative of the way the game went. ... There's a lot of things to like about what we did Michael Del Zotto Kids Jersey  today."So what were those things to like? Here's some positives the Leafs can carry into their next game on  Brian Gibbons Jersey Wednesday against the New York Rangers:John Tavares, William Nylander and Auston Matthews scoredThree of the Maple Leafs 'Big Four'Tavares, Nylander, Matthewsand Mitchell Marner  netted a goal while Marner chipped in two a sists. They drive the offense and having these players show up on the scoresheet in a big game was critical for Toronto.And these guys are certainly on a roll. Matthews notched his 37th to keeppace in the Art Ro s Trophy race and record a point for the fourth straight game (three goals, two a sists). Nylander's goal  his 25th in a career year  extendedhis point streak to eight games (six goals, four a sists), and Marner's  Chris Wideman Kids Jersey helpers gave him fiveconsecutive games with a point (goal, six a sists).Defenselimited chances, even if they didn't limit goals"That's the best defensive game we've played the entire season," said Keefe, despite his squad giving up four goals (one was an empty-netter) in the third period. "I don't know if we gave up Hampus Lindholm Jersey  over four scoring chances at even-strength the whole hockey game."Well, it wasn't four but it wasn't too much more. , Florida had 11 scoring chances at 5v5 including none in the second period. Of those, six were considered high-dangerwith two in the first and four in the third. By comparison, the Leafs had 25 scoring chances with 14 high-danger.The only problem? Each goal  at any strength  was in the home plate area, which isn't a good look defensively. Leafs have time to Sam Steel Men Jersey  find grooveIf the playoffs were to start on Tuesday, Feb. 4, the Toronto Maple Leafs would not be playing; but they don't start for another two months leaving plenty of time for them to get back into the postseason.Of their last 29 games, the Leafs will play 14 at home where they hold a 13-7-7 record. They will also face teams lower in the standings 14 times, including two more 'Battle of Ontario' games in which they're 2-0-0. Considering Toronto has a 6-8-2 record against teams above them in the standings, these games will becritical.The Leafs will also face the three teams currently sitting 1-2-3 in the Atlantic  Boston, Tampa Bay and Florida  a combined  Jared Boll Jersey six more times and the New York Islanders and Carolina Hurricanes, who stand in the team's way for the wild card, once each.