This was coming. There were signs.



The Maple Leafs may have been in a mini-tailspin in the standings, going 3-5-4 in a frustrating stretch the past four weeks and falling further back in the wild-card race.



But they were also turning in strong performances night after night, matching up solidly against good teams like Washington and pummeling bad ones (Vancouver, Colorado, Arizona) with 40-plus shots.



Then came Saturday against the Pittsburgh Penguins, the defending Stanley Cup champs. Missing two top four defencemen and on the second leg of a back-to-back, the Penguins were vulnerable. What was impressive, however, was how the Leafs controlled the game when given an opening.



That’s become a trend of late.



Here is a good example of that, focused only on shots for and against, in five-game segments. The Leafs have averaged 40 shots a game lately – they had 49 against the Penguins – and held opponents to...