Maple Leafs not the only Atlantic Division team already feeling early season pressure

In case you thought the Maple Leafs’ autumn affliction was a local strain of ‘Atlanticus Horribilis,’ just look around.

The seaboard is full of flip-flopping franchises, save for Tampa Bay, which lost Tuesday and thus has only a single-digit point separation (nine) from last-place Florida.

Those good folks at NHLStats confirmed our diagnosis that division and conference-wide issues — injuries, inconsistency and just plain parity — have kept the whole pack tight in unprecedented ways.

The number-crunchers say the Atlantic, in its current form, never has been this close so far into a season, with clubs completing 30% or more of their schedule. Five teams are at .500 or better while, next door, the Metropolitan Division features four of its eight teams above .500, but just five points separating No. 1-8.

Cross-bred with the Atlantic, it’s the first time in more than a half-century — since two-conference play was introduced — that one was quarantined inside nine points or less at this date.

This isn’t to claim the slow-starting Leafs are out of the woods, still four points and six teams from a wild-card berth before Wednesday’s slate of games. But if coach Craig Berube or general manager Brad Treliving were in the autumn firing line, they ought to take a number.

Three different teams recently have occupied the Atlantic basement, including the defending-champion Panthers, dropped by the Leafs’ 4-1 win Tuesday. Above the Cats are some surprise starters as well as puzzling entities — such as the Leafs, of which much more was expected.

Toronto could yet emerge from a season-long six-game trip with a record of 4-2, if it can find a way past the Metro-leading Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday.

And a week on from the U.S. Thanksgiving witching hour for such drastic personnel changes, it can be argued Berube has worked a couple of minor miracles. The team has allowed just seven even-strength goals in the continuing absence of two key defencemen, Chris Tanev and Brandon Carlo. Had it not tripped itself late in the Washington game, this trip already would be a success.

“You don’t want to get too ahead of yourself,” captain Auston Matthews told reporters in Florida after Wednesday’s practice. “You get a couple of good wins, that does a lot for your confidence. We have a good opportunity to end the trip on a good note.” 

Long-awaited goals are coming from the third line and the defence, with Matthews still not producing goals at 100% capability from his latest mystery injury and leading scorer William Nylander slowed by illness during his past two outings.

Berube finally followed through with the high-profile benchings of Dakota Joshua, Max Domi and currently Matias Maccelli, and the line re-distribution he was known for in St. Louis’s Cup season, which was meant to grab players’ attention.

Many thought he’d do more of it last season, but the Leafs quickly got on a hundred-point pace, minus the injured Matthews, while Mitch Marner was not the rebel many thought the coach would encounter.

This year, there’s no Marner and a revolving cast at first-line right wing has been a problem. Domi could still be the answer there after he was stung by having to sit.

Defenceman Troy Stecher, a huge waiver pick-up in light of the blueline injuries, could’ve been speaking for a couple of nomadic Leafs in his between-periods interview Tuesday.

“My career, in a sense, is on the line,” he said of stepping up for others with the team in early playoff peril.

Let’s not kid ourselves, great goaltending makes a lot of coaches and execs look smarter, and a comfortable Joseph Woll has fashioned a .924 save percentage in seven games since returning from personal leave, including a .947 mark in his past three starts.

Woll, with huge saves in tandem with some help from on-ice officials, video replay and an alert defence, has at least restored belief in the sports’ adage that breaks even out for teams that don’t stop working.

After dodging first-period bullets on the latter part of this trip, the Leafs have scored three straight times on their first shot of the game.

A similar opening salvo Thursday in Raleigh would be the most first-shot strikes by any team since the 2001-02 Lightning. And, like the Leafs’ first quarter slide, who saw that coming?

lhornby@postmedia.com

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