The Leafs entered the game on a bit of a skid, with a two game losing streak, and a rough loss to Boston. But, the Leafs turned it around quickly, and didn’t slow down, as they went away with a 4-1 win.

Unlike the last time the Leafs played in Carolina, the Leafs did not allow 29 shots in the first period this time. In fact, it was much better the other way, as the Leafs outshot them 15-8.

And even better, the Leafs left the period with a 1-0 lead, as Tyler Ennis got the puck on his stick with a wide open net in front of him, and he made no mistake to bury it for his fifth of the season.

It wasn’t without a bit of trouble, though. William Nylander took a four minute penalty for high sticking, and the Leafs PK units killed it flawlessly.

The second period was much slower, but for the most part, the Leafs managed to keep the score in their favour- wait Zaitsev, what are you doing?!

Zaitsev steps up on the blue line to try and stop a Sebastian Aho pass, but misses, and as a result, Justin Williams is wide open and has an easy path and shot to the net, and ties the game.

But, that didn’t last long, as Dougie Hamilton scored to give the Leafs a 2-1 lead. And no, the Leafs didn’t trade him for Nylander mid-game, but a Morgan Rielly pass went off his stick and into the net (although it looked like Johnsson’s swipe helped create the momentum). The goal gives Rielly his 10th of the season, a career high for the defenseman… with 51 games left in the season.

The Canes pressed hard early on with some chances, but Freddy stayed steady and the Leafs managed to keep the puck out of their net. The Leafs got a couple of support goals later midway through the third.

First, the Leafs got a 2-on-1, and Nylander made a great pass to Patrick Marleau to make it 3-1.

This was followed shortly after by a great patience play from Mitch Marner, who rounded the net, and set up John Tavares for his 19th of the period.

The Leafs got three back to back to back powerplays to finish the game and secure a victory, and that would do it, as the Buds went away with a 4-1 win.

Despite leading for a majority of the game, the Leafs managed to keep the possession in the favour. Carolina was coming in off of their California road trip, so that probably had a large effect on the results, but regardless, it’s better than starting the game with 29 shots against.

Nylander showed some good signs that he’s getting into form, as he got a couple of assists and was second on the team in CF% in the game, only to Igor Ozhiganov. It was otherwise a relatively normal game for the Buds.

Up next, the Leafs make their first trip to the state of Florida, and we get to see our first matchup between the two titans of the Atlantic division, as they take on the Tampa Bay Lightning. It should be a good one.