Bruce Arthur: Hope and confidence in a time of crisis. The Leafs need more of what worked against the Lightning this time

Remember last week, when team president Brendan Shanahan refused to lower the Stanley Cup expectations for his maddening team? Games like this are why, Bruce Arthur writes.

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Bruce Arthur: Maple Leafs have ‘one foot in, one foot out,’ according to Auston Matthews, and very little time to make up their minds

There are 13 games left in the regular season and the Leafs are still having trouble explaining their play.

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Bruce Arthur: Maple Leafs drop third straight as offence sleeps through the California trip

The Leafs go 144 minutes and 33 seconds between goals and pick up just one point in three-game swing against non-playoff teams.

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Bruce Arthur: Auston Matthews should be in the Hart Trophy discussion every season. The boss expects a Selke, too

The Leafs’ No. 1 centre has the tools to become the NHL’s dominant force on offence and defence — the rarest of combinations in pro sports, Bruce Arthur writes.

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Bruce Arthur: The Maple Leafs’ first shutout loss of the season — to the worst in the West, no less — exposes weakness up front

Coach Sheldon Keefe opened the door to switching up the top two lines in L.A. to create more offensive depth on a team that suddenly does not have a surfeit of it, and the result was ... Pierre Engvall, who had one goal (against the Zamboni driver) in 18 games since the all-star break. It didn’t end well, Bruce Arthur writes.

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Bruce Arthur: The goal couldn’t be clearer — Shanahan sees the Maple Leafs as Stanley Cup contenders now and for years to come

Leafs president Brendan Shanahan, who doesn’t often speak publicly, made it clear in L.A. on Thursday that he isn’t letting this squad lower its expectations, even as its young players grow and learn, even with the playoffs not even guaranteed. The organization still believes in this thing, Bruce Arthur writes.

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Bruce Arthur: It’s awfully late in the race for the Maple Leafs to be fumbling for the gear shift

It’s not just that this Leafs team isn’t an A-plus every night. Who is? It’s that when things go wrong, they too often implode, Bruce Arthur writes.

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Bruce Arthur: Don’t blame the goalie. The Jekyll and Hyde Leafs just couldn’t keep up with the lousy Sharks

On Tuesday night in San Jose, the Leafs — whose general manager called them Jekyll and Hyde a week ago — failed to match the intensity of a non-playoff team. Asked if the problem was effort or execution, head coach Sheldon Keefe said: “I think it’s both,” Bruce Arthur writes.

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Bruce Arthur: How the Maple Leafs’ Zach Hyman became the NHL’s most accurate sniper

The Maple Leafs winger is shooting 21.2 per cent, tops in the NHL, and he owns the high-danger zone. However replicable or even sustainable this season is, Hyman simply continues to improve year by year, Bruce Arthur writes.

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Bruce Arthur: The Maple Leafs are back on top of the wave as they hit the West Coast

The urgency of a week ago is gone after three straight wins. And with some of their walking wounded now skating, the Leafs hope to extend the latest ride.

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Bruce Arthur: Keefe’s Maple Leafs are in real trouble — with holes you could drive a Zamboni through

The goaltending has faltered. The defence has issues. They miss Nazem Kadri on a lot of nights. The best hockey teams weather storms. These Leafs, too often, don’t, Bruce Arthur writes.

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Bruce Arthur: The Maple Leafs’ worst game of the season was the best night of Dave Ayres’ life

The Hurricanes, down two goalies, called on a 42-year-old who once got a kidney transplant from his mother, who plays in Toronto beer leagues and is the building operations manager at Mattamy Athletic Centre. And they won. Only in hockey, Bruce Arthur writes.

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Bruce Arthur: Maple Leafs believe tough times now will lead to smooth sailing in the end

Coach Sheldon Keefe thinks the turbulence will produce a better playoff team; GM Kyle Dubas thinks that, too. In a little under two months, we find out if they’re right

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Bruce Arthur: Maple Leafs show their coach the ‘signs of life’ he’s looking for in shutout of Penguins

The game, a response to an embarrassing loss in Pittsburgh, is the closest thing to a signature win the Leafs have.

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Bruce Arthur: Leafs facing another moment that will test them ... and their history of succeeding isn’t great

The Leafs were pantsed again by the Penguins, have won four times in regulation in 18 games, and there’s no guaranteed playoff spot at the end of the rainbow this time. They weren’t up to the biggest moments last season. Are they this year?

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Bruce Arthur: School of rock — How Leafs GM Kyle Dubas and the Arkells’ Max Kerman found perfect harmony

NHL front office meets rock band frontman isn’t the traditional formula for bromance or professional success — and you’d think Dubas might be more of a Metric guy — but it works. It started with a birthday gift, and the team’s recent mentors road trip took the bond to another level.

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Bruce Arthur: Plan the parade? Keefe’s Leafs are just as likely to drive off a cliff

With Andreas Johnsson out eight weeks after knee surgery and Morgan Rielly still a long ways away from a return, it feels like the Maple Leafs are living in the space between making a run and squandering their slender margin for error, Bruce Arthur writes.

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Bruce Arthur: Maple Leafs earn points for creativity — even if the Money Line didn’t pay off this time

Sheldon Keefe rolled nearly $30 million (U.S.) worth of stars out on his top line: Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander. In the first attempt, it was a flop. But it was worth a shot, and they still won, Bruce Arthur writes.

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Bruce Arthur: Fears for Freddie highlight just how easily the Maple Leafs’ season can go sideways

Results of concussion testing after a first-period collision were good, but this entire Leafs season has felt oddly unstable. The morning after Monday night’s meltdown against the Panthers will be very important for No. 1 netminder Frederik Andersen and their chances the rest of the way, Bruce Arthur writes.

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Bruce Arthur: The Maple Leafs shouldn’t sleep on trading Kasperi Kapanen — if it fetches the defence help they need

If the Leafs were close on a deal, you’d think publicly rebuking Kapanen for tardiness would be unwise. Or maybe they know that Kapanen’s speed and potential are saleable no matter what, Bruce Arthur writes.

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