Article content continued

As they faced off against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday, the young Leafs were merely the hottest team in the division, 7-1-2 in their previous 10, setting up a fascinating second half of the season as the playoff races get real.

Ottawa has one game in hand on Toronto. The Senators and Leafs meet at the CTC next Saturday and at the ACC the Saturday after that. It’s back on, the B of O.

The other Eastern Conference team that takes in Canadian revenue, the Canadiens, appear to be safely out front in the division as the Habs approach the halfway mark of the season. And so we ponder the prospect of all three Eastern teams qualifying after none did last season.

In the West, the Oilers are threatening to take a front-door entrance into the playoffs for the first time since they went all the way to the Cup final in 2006, losing to the Carolina Hurricanes.

After more than a decade of promise, built on the foundation of high draft picks in the name of Sam Gagner, Jordan Eberle, Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Nail Yakupov, Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid, just to name a few, the Oil Change is finally kicking in.

The Oilers roll into Ottawa on a 6-2-2 run over their last 10, sitting third in the Pacific Division, just ahead of the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks, battling for wild-card berths or better. The Winnipeg Jets are also in the mix, just beyond the top eight.

The Canucks had won six straight heading into Saturday’s rematch with the Flames.