ANAHEIM—It’s a grind that lasts more than six months, but sometimes it seems like the hectic 82-game NHL season can go by without time for a proper hello among teammates.

At least, that was the feeling in Leafland of late. After holding training camp in Halifax in September, the Maple Leafs had gone more than three months without an extended stretch spent together on the road. So the story goes that Dion Phaneuf, the team captain, formulated a brainstorm. Why not, in the lead-up to Toronto’s three-game Pacific road swing that begins here Wednesday night against the Ducks, hold a couple of days of practice under the California sun?

It says a lot about how well this Maple Leafs season is going — and they’ve won five of their past seven games — that head coach Mike Babcock okayed the plan.

“Dion came to me and he said, ‘The boys want to get on the road.’ That was good enough for me. I thought it was a good idea,” Babcock said Monday, after the Leafs held a spirited 67-minute practice at the Honda Center. “We’re playing hard. We’re doing good things. I think any time you’ve got a chance to get out here and enjoy the weather, it’s a good thing. I used to live out here, so it’s a lot of fun. It’s good for our coaches and good for our players.”

Babcock, speaking on a glorious day that featured sunny skies, a high of about 20C and a post-practice spread of In-N-Out Burgers, called the trip an opportunity for “team building.” But how solid that construction becomes in the near term will depend on how soundly the Leafs perform on a journey that contains three games in four nights against the Ducks, L.A. Kings and San Jose Sharks.

“Let’s not get carried away (about the value of road-trip team building),” Babcock said. “Team building, as much as it can be about doing ropes courses and doing all this kind of stuff, team building is when you block a shot. Team building’s when you get it out on the wall. Team building is when you get to the net, you get cross-checked in the head, and you tip it in. That’s real team building, because you can trust one another.”

In other words, no matter how much off-ice fun the Leafs can manage during their SoCal respite, Babcock is a firm believer that teams only truly find themselves on the ice. And while the Leafs have unearthed some of the franchise’s long-lost credibility this season thanks to a compelling run against Western opponents — they’re a remarkable 10-5-1 against teams from this side of the continent — there’s more to do to prove it’s not a fluke.

“There’s no rhyme or reason to it,” said veteran forward Joffrey Lupul, speaking of Toronto’s record against the West. “I don’t think we match up better against the West. We’re probably just fortunate right now. Or unfortunate in our own division.”

Still, when you compare Toronto’s recent results with their work of a year ago, what’s been built in Toronto in a few short months continues to astound. Wednesday is the one-year anniversary of firing of head coach Randy Carlyle, a move that came in the wake of a death spiral that saw the Maple Leafs seem to wholly disregard a coach’s pleadings.

“We’ve been trying and preaching and begging, coddling, kicking,” Carlyle said before the last game he coached for Toronto.

Twelve months on and Carlyle’s preaching has given way to the authoritative teaching of a man whose $50 million contract makes him the most powerful bench boss in the history of his sport. So far it looks like money well spent. In the final 10 games under Carlyle the Leafs, sporting the bulk of today’s roster, were outshot by an average of 11.3 shots a night. Just 37 games into Babcock’s tenure, Toronto’s shot differential has already edged into positive territory. A positive shot differential generally suggests plus-side puck possession, which in turn suggests a team that’s ultimately trying a lot harder than it did a year ago. The effort hasn’t gone unnoticed.

“I think the coaching staff understands how hard we’ve been working and they’re rewarding us a little bit (with the California trip),” said centreman Nazem Kadri.

On Monday afternoon, the Maple Leafs looked like a team happy to be doing its work away from the usual Etobicoke practice pad. Along with the usual high-tempo drills, the workout was capped by a series of mano-a-mano races, Leaf against Leaf from the slot to centre. Good fun and upsets abounded.

Roman Polak beat Leo Komarov three times. (Said Komarov: “He’s fast. Or maybe I’m slow.”)

Martin Marincin beat Morgan Rielly at least twice. (Said Rielly of the possibility Marincin false-started: “Well, obviously.”)

Jonathan Bernier beat James Reimer. (Babcock announced Bernier will start Wednesday).

But as for the off-ice fun the Leafs may or may not have been planning — Rielly said that Lupul, an off-season resident of nearby Newport Beach, had been appointed the team’s unofficial tour guide — there were built-in checks and balances. After enjoying a Monday sleep-in thanks to a practice booked for 1:30 p.m. local time, Tuesday’s workout was slated to begin at a less forgiving 10:30 a.m.

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“Being around one another, and understanding each other, getting to know each other better and spending some time together, I don’t think it hurt anybody,” Babcock said. “You do that in training camp when you travel, which I thought was real important this year, we got away. (The rest of the year) most of the time you’re just in and out, in and out (on short road trips) and you never get any time together. So here’s an opportunity for us.”

In other words, while Lupul said it’ll be important for the Maple Leafs to “stay sharp” given the quality of competition ahead, Babcock saw some value in loosening up — a little.

How they play in the coming three games may determine whether he ever sees it the same away again.

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