After a tumultuous start to the season, the Toronto Maple Leafs head into this week just one point back of a playoff spot, thanks to securing at least a point in 12 of their last 13 games. Through injuries and overall poor play, the Leafs still find themselves on the cusp of a playoff berth for the 10th-consecutive season.
When looking at the numbers, there have been a few mind-bending trends throughout the ups and downs of Toronto’s season. Whether it’s their once-brutal power play which has since been remedied, or their inability on certain nights to hold on to a lead, or the perplexing mediocrity that plagued Auston Matthews for the first few months of the season, there’s a lot to sift through.
However, none may be more head-scratching than how this team plays at home versus how they play on the road. Maybe it’s not always about how the play, but nonetheless: The results they are getting in Toronto are far different from those away from Scotiabank Arena.
Few Are Better at Home Than the Maple Leafs
Let’s start with their record at home.
Through 26 games at home, the Maple Leafs have 37 points (16-5-5), which is tied for second in the NHL with the Detroit Red Wings and just four points behind the Colorado Avalanche. Just for some context, the Avalanche have been dominating in Denver since day one, and have lost just one game in regulation for a record of 19-1-3. That’s right, just one regulation loss. For a team that has dealt with a plethora of adversity like the Maple Leafs have, it’s gone almost unnoticed that they are right up there with the best team in the NHL when it comes to their ability to win at home.
In addition, the Leafs are third in goals scored at home with 96, and are in the top 10 in both power play success and penalty killing.
The funniest stat, and perhaps the most “Leafy” stat, is that they have allowed the most shots per game on home ice in the NHL, with 31.5.
In the midst of all of the negativity that surrounded this team in the 2025 portion of this season, the Leafs have been one of the best home teams, which has played a huge role in helping them stay afloat.
Tough Travels for the Maple Leafs
While the Maple Leafs have had tremendous success at home, it has been the polar opposite on the road. They are 29th in the NHL with 19 points (8-11-3) through 22 games on the road, and that record was bolstered by going 2-1-1 last week while on a four-game road trip.
The Leafs are 21st with 66 goals, but are slightly better in goals against with 81, which is 11th in the league. Their power play on the road is dead last at 10.9%, but their penalty kill is at a solid 83.6%
This season, William Nylander (48), John Tavares (42), Matthew Knies (40), and Matthews (40) lead the team in points. Matthews (15), Oliver Ekman-Larsson (15), Morgan Rielly (14), and Nylander (13) lead the team in points while on the road. Some of that makes sense, considering the Leafs have played four more games at home. Still, there’s a drastic difference in those numbers, and moreover, for Ekman-Larsson and Rielly to be in the top four in points on the road is a bit concerning.
The Leafs Need to Become Road Warriors to Play in the Spring
At the time of writing (a few hours before the puck drops against the Minnesota Wild), the Leafs have 34 games remaining this season. Out of those 34 games, 19 of them are on the road, including another four-game road trip that starts next Thursday night.
Before that trip, the Leafs play the Wild, Red Wings, Vegas Golden Knights, Avalanche, and the Buffalo Sabres, all at home. All of those teams are currently in a playoff position, but no matter the challenge, they will still need to find a way to take advantage of this homestand.
Related: What the Maple Leafs’ Stats Reveal About Their Identity
The funny thing about the upcoming four-game road trip is that it is technically six games, and it’s not the easiest. The first four games are against the Seattle Kraken, Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames, and the Edmonton Oilers. It’s never easy heading out west, but the Oilers are clearly the hardest part of that trip. That last game against the Oilers is the last game before the Winter Olympic break. They come back on Feb. 25 and promptly have a back-to-back in Florida against the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Florida Panthers.
After this current homestand, the Leafs play two-straight games at home only two more times, which includes the last two games of the season. Not only are there a lot of road games to finish off the season, but most of those games are in groups of two or three.
They still have to win games at home, of course, but any hopes of playoff hockey that this team has hangs on their road success.
