March 8, 2013

Leafs coach Randy Carlyle has to find a way to get Nikolai Kulemin (above) and his linemate, Mikhail Grabovski, scoring on a more consistent basis. (Ernest Doroszuk/Toronto Sun)

The Maple Leafs started the second half of the 2012-13 48-game season with a loss in Boston against the Bruins on Thursday night, but it was not for a lack of effort that they fell short. The Leafs were beaten by a better team. The signs remain encouraging for Toronto as the NHL’s schedule chugs past the midway point, and the Leafs take a 15-10 record into Saturday night’s contest at the Air Canada Centre against Sidney Crosby and the rest of the Pittsburgh Penguins. They might not have to win at the same clip to get to the playoffs for the first time since 2004, but they’re going to have to come close.