TORONTO — Guy Boucher’s team boarded the plane with four points in the bank.
The Ottawa Senators and their head coach had just taken both games from the Colorado Avalanche in Stockholm — back-to-back 4-3 victories — to sweep the NHL Global Series.
It ended up being their high point that season.
The Senators’ trip to Sweden in November 2017 was followed by a disastrous run and spectacular fall once back on the ground in North America. Ottawa picked up a solitary victory over its next 13 contests (1-10-2) to sink the franchise’s playoff aspirations after making it all the way to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference final the previous
Leafs winger William Nylander had two goals and three assists playing in his hometown, including that OT clincher, as Toronto now pivots to a Friday afternoon tilt in Chicago against the Blackhawks for U.S. Thanksgiving before visiting the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday.
“Good to get moving, mentally get back in sync with things,” Toronto captain John Tavares said. “Important couple days to get back up to speed.”
“It’s better to fly this way versus going to Sweden,” Nylander added of potential jet lag. “Easier to get into the time zone.”
Keefe was happy his team left Europe with the maximum points, but didn’t love how they got there despite strong performances from Nylander, Tavares, Tyler Bertuzzi, Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and an under-fire penalty kill.
“We didn’t play our best hockey,” Keefe said. “But a lot of encouraging signs of how the group pulled together in big moments.
Now it’s about getting back in the swing of things on this side of the ocean with Toronto sitting 10-5-2 through 17 games.
“A long distance travelled, but we only played two games,” said Leafs defenceman Mark Giordano, the NHL’s oldest player at age 40. “We should be really fresh.”
Keefe and his staff are doing everything in their power to make sure that’s the case so the Leafs don’t experience a downturn similar to the one that doomed their provincial rivals six years ago.
“Have to be smart about it,” Keefe said. “And not disregard it as just hockey and part f the schedule.