Leafs winger Phil Kessel (not in picture) scores on Carey Price while James van Riemsdyk looks on at the Bell Centre in Montreal on Saturday, Feb. 9, 2013. (Reuters)
MONTREAL - If you blinked, you might have missed it, but just three weeks after the NHL season started it’s already a quarter of the way to the finish line.
And with the Leafs decisive 6-0 beatdown of a frightfully poor Canadiens squad on Saturday night at the Bell Centre, the Leafs are somewhere between a pleasant surprise and on the right track as the young season builds in its body of work.
Yes, it’s only been 12 games, but a dozen is comparable to 20.5 in a full campaign and to that end, climbing into a tie for fifth place in the Eastern Conference with Saturday’s blowout win certainly has some meaning.
Leafs coach Randy Carlyle has a bucket of water ready for any hint of over reaction, however.
“We’re not here claiming we’re anything,” Carlyle said on Saturday as his team moved to 7-5 and jumped ahead of the Habs in the standings. “We continue to be a work in progress.”
