If we go back to Nov. 6, things were getting a bit hairy for the Maple Leafs and Mike Babcock.



Expectations were high for this team, but they had just finished a disastrous road swing through California and St. Louis. And Auston Matthews was out hurt.



But they came back to the ACC and battled out an ugly win in a shootout against Vegas. The coach took it as a game to build on.



“Any time you’ve been in a bad spell, it’s usually ugly when you come out of it,” Babcock said. “But it’s a win. And now we can breathe and get playing.”



They haven’t stopped winning since.



The Leafs improved to 12-3-1 in their last 16 games on the weekend, beating Pittsburgh and Edmonton in a fashion similar to how they’ve won a lot of games lately. (Opportune offence combined with good goaltending and suspect defensive play.)



The Leafs now have more points than any other NHL team in that span. They...