The Toronto Maple Leafs were able to pull off a character win against the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday.

They were playing responsibly defensively by blocking shots, keeping a majority of the scoring chances to the outside, and supporting Joseph Woll to make his life easier. When Matthew Knies exited the game due to a questionable hit from Zach Whitecloud, the Leafs upped their intensity with a strong physical play to not back down from what Vegas threw their way.

While the Golden Knights were left frustrated with how the night went for them, they tipped their cap to the Leafs for how well they played and the system Craig Berube has implemented.

“They play a pretty hard game,” Golden Knights defenceman Noah Hanifin said after the game. “Especially defensively just boxing out and making it hard to get to the net with their layers. So we knew it was going to be a pretty tough fight tonight with their lineup and they work hard. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get those goals to keep us in the game.”

Hanifin also credited Woll for making some good saves on the night that prevented the Golden Knights from burying their chances, describing it as ‘something we’re not used to this year.’

Leafs fans have often wondered since the beginning of the campaign if the changes to the Leafs’ playing style under Berube are having any noticeable impact on their performance. This was especially the case through the first month when the team was having difficulty stringing together wins and not scoring at a clip people have been accustomed to during this era of the franchise. Hearing an opponent praise the Leafs for their hard work and structure is no doubt a welcome sight, especially since it was terminology that was not often used during the days of Kyle Dubas and Sheldon Keefe.

“Give them credit, their goalie made some saves. Obviously, their willingness to block shots and their desperation. Frustrating,” Golden Knights forward Jack Eichel said when reflecting on the game.

Of course, it won’t matter if the Leafs don’t translate that success in the playoffs because that is what will ultimately define their season at the end of the day. But there is no denying that hearing players from a team that is less than two years removed from winning a Stanley Cup (with aspirations of doing so again) is going to be music to the ears of fans who have clamoured for the team to implement a system like the one Berube has put in place.

Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy felt that his players got outworked all night by the Leafs and the game could have ended up more lopsided had it not been for the play of goaltender Adin Hill.

“I thought we lost a lot of races and battles,” Cassidy said, “The game changed on the penalty kill. We have a two-on-one opportunity to tie the game. All right, we don’t make a play, but we get caught up ice and give their two best players basically a practice two-on-one. So all of a sudden it’s two nothing.”

“After that, it looked like they got a lot of juice from it,” he added. “Certainly outworked us and probably could have made it worse. Hilly played pretty well. So at the end of the day, our lack of finish in the power play in the second period and then that play is probably what ended up being the difference.”

Wednesday’s game certainty felt like a playoff game with how intese the physicaltiy was which got the crowd at Scotiabank Arena going all night long. It was a measuring stick type of contest that could be used as a benchmark for what the Leafs will want to aspire towards recreating more often than not and suffice to say they passed with flying colours.

The Golden Knights were no doubt left frustrated when it was all said and done, but they couldn’t help but heap their praise to the Leafs because they played well. As written earlier, these nice words won’t mean much if it doesn’t translate in the spring but it is no doubt a breath of fresh air to hear them coming from a recent Cup winner.