NEW YORK — The Toronto Maple Leafs are two weeks away from embarking upon a pursuit they hope will allow the franchise to achieve something it hasn’t done
in more than 50 years. The New York Islanders will have far more modest and
shorter-term goals in mind Friday night
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Both teams won their most recent games. The Maple Leafs continued surging toward the playoffs Wednesday, when they beat the visiting Florida Panthers 4-3.
The Islanders earned a rare victory Tuesday, when they edged the host Ottawa
Senators 4-3.
The win was the team-record 46th of the season for the Maple Leafs (46-24-7). The 1998-99, 1999-2000 and 2003-04 clubs all won 45 games apiece.
But as notable as the achievement was Wednesday night, the Maple Leafs have far loftier goals in mind, Toronto hasn’t reached the Stanley Cup Finals since
winning its last championship in 1967. Both droughts are by far the longest
among the NHL’s “Original Six” franchises.
“It’s nice to get
Tarik Cohen Jersey Youth , obviously,” Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock said about the 46th victory following Wednesday’s game. “But we’ve got bigger plans.
We’re just moving along and trying to get better.”
The Maple Leafs, who are one point away from their first 100-point season since 2003-04, are all but locked into third place in the Atlantic Division and
a first-round matchup with the Tampa Bay Lightning or Boston Bruins. Boston
moved past Tampa Bay and into first place in the Atlantic Division with a 4-2
victory over Tampa Bay on Thursday.
While the Maple Leafs have history in mind, the Islanders (32-35-10) just want to remember what it’s like to win consecutive games. The win Tuesday was
just the third in the last 17 games (3-10-4) for New York since its most recent
two-game winning streak Feb. 15-16.
The Islanders have produced back-to-back wins only three times since the end of November. No wonder, then
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