TORONTO

Here's something you probably won't see affixed with one of those #FireCarlyle hashtags.

The coach who had heavy odds to be among the first let go in the NHL this season -- even though bossBrendan Shanahan said he would be very patient with the team's new hockey structure -- moved into the top 10 of Maple Leafs coaching victories this week.

With a 4-0 win over the Dallas Stars on Tuesday, Randy Carlyle reached 90 wins in Toronto since taking over for the fired Ron Wilson on March 2, 2012. Carlyle passed Mike Nykoluk, who coached almost 100 games more than Carlyle's 183 in the early 1980s, winning 89.

Of course, evolving rules on overtime and creation of the shootout can skew such numbers, but Carlyle's Toronto record is 90-74-19 with a chance this year to become just the eighth Leaf coach to win 100 games.

The full top 10 list:

1.Punch Imlach 370 wins; 2. Pat Quinn 300; 3. Hap Day259; 4. Dick Irvin215; 5.Red Kelly133;Pat Burns 133; 7. Wilson 130; 8.John McLellan 126; 9. Joe Primeau 97; 10. Carlyle 90.

Carlyle, who won a Stanley Cup in Anaheim, will coach NHL game No. 700 on Sunday in Florida, with an overall record of 363-256-80.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

A bad mid-season road trip can destroy playoff chances, but the Leafs are hoping this extended time away will help define them.

After a long stretch at home that ended with them winning seven of nine, they began 11 of 13 in their visiting whites by splitting in Chicago and Dallas. They go through the Florida teams this weekend, spend New Year's Eve in Boston and then come home via Minnesota and Winnipeg.

"I think it's something you look forward to," centre Peter Holland said. "You get to spend some more time together as a team than at home. It will be tough, but hopefully, a good team-building experience.

"It's good it gets broken up by the holiday. It will be nice to have that mental break, get home with friends and family and take your mind off things."

DefencemanMorgan Rielly, still relatively new to the NHL, says there is an element of excitement to playing in new rinks in different time zones.

"We get to hang out a little more, get to go on the plane together, stay in hotels, play cards ... we always have a good time. Here at home, the older guys have kids, wives and what-not so they don't get a chance to hang out. We try and find new spots to eat out.

"You're going to cities you've never been to before. (Last season) was my first trip to California. We got to enjoy the weather a bit. Thankfully, we played well (winning in Anaheim and Los Angeles) or that might have been the last time we got out in California.

"That's just a cool aspect of being in the league, getting to enjoy that stuff. But hockey comes first and these are huge points. We're gelling as a team and (trips like this) bring us closer."

NO SHAKING JAKE

Stephane Robidas is 13 years older than fellow defenceman Jake Gardiner, but thinks the latter will come through a recent rough stretch just fine.

Gardiner had a more simplified game on Tuesday against Dallas withKorbinian Holzertaking a seat. The Leafs are trying to take out the "erratic" elements of Gardiner's high-risk game.

"Whenever things don't go your way, you try and do too much, which is like not doing enough," Robidas said. "You want to make good things happen and sometimes you are pressing too much. That's when you can put yourself in bad positions.

"Jake has made some solid plays. Sometimes there is bad luck, too, when the puck doesn't bounce your way. You get in a funk sometimes where everything that can go wrong does go wrong. But he's a good young defencemen with lots of skill and lots of potential. He can skate the puck up and down the ice, he's a strong guy, so he's got all the tools. I'm sure he'll be okay."

LOOSE LEAFS

One of the more dynamic upgrades the Leafs have added to their attack in recent games is Rielly jumping into the rush. With either Robidas or Holzer as his partner, Reilly has been alert to spot opportunities for a 2-on-1. "Guys like Jake and Morgan have some experience, they've played in big games at the world junior," Robidas said. "They don't know the league as much or the players, but when I can help them I will." ... The Marlies will be back in action before the Leafs, taking on the rival Hamilton Bulldogs Friday at Ricoh at 1 p.m., usually with a lot Christmas aggression to work out. Connor Brown, who has played all 29 games so far along with defencemanTom Nilsson, is the Marlies' leading scorer with 22 points.