Is there anything better than the Leafs and Habs on Hockey Night in Canada? The answer is yes, a Leafs victory over the Habs on Hockey Night in Canada. With about a half a minute remaining in regulation, Mats Sundin carried the puck into the offensive zone along the right wing boards and I could sense something positive was about to happen. I knew we were winning this game without the aid of overtime. A streak like the one the blue and white are currently on can have this kind of effect on ones sense of optimism. Sundin took a shot that was redirected by a Montreal defender over the shoulder of Jose Theodore for his league-leading fifth game-winning goal of the season.

The exciting victory further extended their franchise record for consecutive games registering at least a point to 14. To put this into perspective, the Leafs have secured 26 of a possible 28 points during this streak. It's been a month since they lost in regulation. Our lead in the North East division is a hefty 9 points. Imagine what will happen when our most talented player returns?

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Sure, the Leafs extended their franchise record for consecutive games registering at least a point to 13, but a tie against the craptacular Capitals is disappointing. This was certainly a game we should have won, even with backup goaltender Trevor Kidd making only his second start of the season and regular defensemen Tomas Kaberle and Aki Berg out the lineup. A win tonight against the Habs will make everything alright again.

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With this win the Leafs set a franchise record for consecutive games registering at least a point with twelve. We're also tied for the overall league lead with Philadelphia. The Leafs are kicking ass, it's as simple as that.

The line of Mats Sundin, Gary Roberts and Mikael Renberg played another great game. Sundin hit a milestone by recording his 600th career assist. When amassing a streak of this nature, you have to be solid between the pipes. Eddie Belfour continued his great season recording his fourth shutout of the year and third in his past six games. If you haven't done so already, you may want to consider jumping on this bandwagon. It's shaping up to be a dream season and dare I suggest we're only going to get better before the playoffs commence.

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I love watching Leafs - Rangers games. The Leafs always seem to play well and you're always in for a couple of fights. Every once in a while you hear or read about how there's no place in our game for fisticuffs, but damn is it entertaining.

Mikael Renberg played an awesome offensive game alongside Gary Roberts and Eddie Belfour was once again sharp. The Leafs have tied their franchise record for consecutive games with a point at eleven and (don't look now) are only a point behind the Flyers for the conference lead. In their division, the Leafs have a nice five point cushion between themselves and Boston and a solid ten point advantage over the Senators. Awesome.

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If there's a problem with hockey, it's the trapping style employed by teams like the Minnesota Wild. Jacques Lemaire subscribes to the school of thought that if you clog up the neutral zone you can manage a goal or two to steal a win against far more talented teams. This style can be rather hard on fans of this great game. The Leafs did what they had to do to secure a road victory thanks to another terrific performance by Ed Belfour and some grit from Tom Fitzgerald who scored the lone goal, had a glorious chance on a break-away in the third and blocked a shot in the last minute of play.

I heard an analyst this morning claim the Leafs were unbeaten in 10 games. This is simply not true. They do grant you a single point for losing in overtime, but it's still a loss. We're actually unbeaten in one. If we must streakify this run, you can say we've registered a point in 10 successive games. Any way you slice it, I am pleased.

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When Joe Nieuwendyk scored at 19:43 of the third to force overtime, Leaf commentator Joe Bowen and I screamed "Holy Mackinaw" in unison. The never-say-die Leafs had overcome a 4 minute penalty to tie the score at 2. Unfortunately this penalty carried over into the overtime period and the Blues scored quickly during the 4 on 3 action.

All good things come to an end I suppose. It was a wonderful streak while it lasted. St. Louis is a very good team and we did earn a point stretching our lead to four points over Boston for the Northeast Division lead. A new streak begins Thursday in Minnesota.

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Ho hum, another win for the Maple Leafs. What is that...eight in a row? I haven't been keeping count.

Hot damn we're playing good hockey right now. The roll continues after another solid effort against a very good team. Who was that guy wearing Bryan Marchment's jersey who took it to the net for his 39th career goal and first as a Leaf? You know things are going your way when Marchment looks like Bobby Orr.

When the Leafs lost 3-2 to the Edmonton Oilers back on November 21st, I suggested that Pat Quinn may have passed his expiration date. Since that post, the Leafs have played eight games and have 16 points to show for their efforts. I believe in giving credit where credit is due, and Quinn deserves some credit for this dramatic turn-around. The defense is dramatically improved and the offense is clicking on all cylinders. So long as the blue and white win, I can live with Quinn behind the bench.

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The Maple Leafs are playing superb hockey right now. They were by far the faster, more skilled team on the ice tonight in Beantown. The Leafs have won seven games in a row for the first time in a decade and have extended their lead atop the Northeast Division to 3 points. It's a treat watching this squad compete these days.

What's going right for the blue and white? Our forwards are all playing extremely well, despite the absence of Alexander Mogilny. Owen Nolan was the best player on the ice and Joe Nieuwendyk and Darcy Tucker had strong games as well. Heck, even guys like Harold Druken and Alexei Ponikarovsky are pitching in.

Our defense is playing sound, smart hockey. This winning streak is due in large part to the efforts of our blueliners. Karel Pilar has really stepped in while everyone else from Tomas Kaberle to Brian McCabe to Ken Klee has stepped it up a notch.

Our penalty killing has been dominant while our power play simultaneously began to click. There were three power play goals for Toronto tonight and not a single power play goal allowed. Special teams are more important than ever in this tight checking era and the Leafs have been capitalizing on both accounts.

Eddie Belfour has been great. He stopped 25 shots tonight for his second shutout of the season. He's making the big saves when the Leafs need them and he's been a huge factor during this streak. Off nights for Eddie are few and far between.

When you add up excellent play from your forwards, defensemen, special teams and goaltender you get a pretty good result. The Leafs go for eight in row Saturday night against the Red Wings. I'm feelin' pretty good about it.

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Six in a row... I'm smiling right now. I have a huge grin on my face. I am very, very happy. It's been almost three years since our Leafs have won six games in a row.

With a goal and an assist, Owen Nolan continued to be a leader for the surging Leafs. Mats Sundin continued to silence his critics with another strong game including a pretty game-winner, his 64th game winning goal to give him the all-time franchise lead ahead of Dave Keon. Besides the five goal outburst, we were treated to two Tie Domi - Matthew Barnaby battles, both times Domi dominated. This was a thoroughly entertaining game. I can't wait for Thursday when the blue and white go for seven against the Boston Bruins.

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There's no more denying it. The Leafs are on quite the hot streak beating up on the Rangers last night for their fifth win in succession. Damn this feels good. This feels really good.

Once Trevor Kidd shook the rust off, he played a solid game between the pipes. This defensive squad that has every Leaf fan weary of what lies ahead has been playing quite well throughout this winning streak. They should hold the fort nicely until the trading deadline when John Ferguson, Jr. will have to upgrade one or two spots in order to make the Leafs serious Cup contenders. The Eastern Conference champion will most likely have to go through New Jersey or Philadelphia and we'll have to beef up to survive that battle. For now though, I'm enjoying this.

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