Despite what the Toronto Maple Leafs’ rather poor record to start the season may suggest, the team has yet to face much objectively tough competition. Other than the Carolina Hurricanes, every team the Maple Leafs have played thus far either finds themselves sitting at the bottom of the standings, or has begun the year as a pleasant surprise overachieving against preseason expectations. That all changes this week starting tonight with a matchup against the Vegas Golden Knights followed up by games against Tampa Bay and Boston later in the week. These three teams have been some of the NHL’s best over the past few seasons, and despite some slow starts of their own for Tampa and Vegas, both are currently sitting on three game winning streaks to surge back into the conversation of the NHL’s elite.

If the Toronto Maple Leafs want to be respected as members of the NHL’s elite, and be seen as true Stanley Cup Contenders they’ll need to snatch at least two wins from the three games against these formidable opponents. Vegas is due up first in tonight’s game, and with two matchups against divisional rivals on the horizon, it’s essential that Toronto keeps the momentum of their winning streak going by beating a Vegas team that is missing many of their key players.

With Alex Tuch, Max Paccioretty, William Karlsson, and Mark Stone all expected to miss the game, the Leafs need to make sure history doesn’t repeat itself with another horrific loss where an undermanned team outworks them to the point of embarrassment like we saw during the loss to Pittsburgh. Meanwhile, the Leafs have won two in a row, and have a new look to their blueline that has impressed thus far. A dominant win tonight would be a major statement in showing this team is learning from their mistakes as much as they claim to.