Tavares, Maple Leafs seek to bring road success home

PITTSBURGH -- John Tavares had no idea that the Toronto Maple Leafs are off to their best start on the road in 77 years.

Nor can he explain why.
"There's not one guy in here that knew about that road record and how long it's been since the franchise has started a season this way away from home," the forward said in the Maple Leafs locker room after Toronto's 5-0 win against the host Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday. "I just know that we've got to find a way to play this way at home too."
It's been tale of two seasons for the Maple Leafs when it comes to their performances at home and on the road.
Away from Scotiabank Arena, the Maple Leafs have gone 6-0-0 while outscoring the opposition 32-17. Toronto has won each of its first six road games in a season for the second time in its history, the other coming when the Maple Leafs started 7-0-0 on the road in 1940-41.
It's been a different story at home, where Toronto is 3-5-0 and has been outscored 22-16. Perhaps the most revealing stat: The Maple Leafs are averaging 5.33 goals per game on the road, 2.0 goals per game at home.
The statistical splits for Tavares mirror those numbers. He has 12 points (seven goals, five assists) in six road games and four points (one goal, three assists) in eight home games.
Is it a sign of playing under the constant spotlight that comes with the hockey fishbowl that is Toronto? Tavares, who grew up in the Toronto area cheering for the Maple Leafs, rejects that notion.
"I don't think so," he said. "Teams have come in ready to play and they've played us hard. I thought we did some good things in the Dallas game (a 2-1 loss at Scotiabank Arena last Thursday). Sometimes that's the way it goes. Sometimes you lose games you should win and sometimes you win games you should lose. Over 82 games there are a lot of different scripts. Stay with it and worry about the next one.
"We want to win in both situations, home and road."

Asked why the Maple Leafs have been more successful on the road, defenseman Morgan Rielly shrugged his shoulders.
"Sorry, I don't have an answer for you," he said. "I can't tell you what's going on. I'm not trying to avoid the question. It's something we are trying to figure out ourselves We have to be better at home, that's all."
Could the change in routine be an issue? Things such as the familiarity of sleeping in your own bed?
"No. In my personal view, I don't think there should be any difference in how you play home and away," Rielly said. "I mean, I went to an Italian restaurant Friday night (in Pittsburgh). I do that for home games too.
"We feel good about the road, but it's time we assert ourselves in our own building."
They'll get two chances to do that in the coming week starting with a visit to Toronto by the second-year Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; TSN4, ATTSN-RM, NHL-TV). The New Jersey Devils come to Scotiabank Arena for the annual Hockey Hall of Fame Game on Friday.
The Maple Leafs then embark on a four-game road trip with stops in Boston, Los Angeles, San Jose and Anaheim. Should Toronto manage to sweep that trip, it would tie the NHL record for longest road win streak to begin a season of 10 games, a mark set by the Buffalo Sabres in 2006-07.
Tavares, who signed a seven-year, $77 million contract (average annual value $11 million) with the Maple Leafs on July 1 after nine seasons with the New York Islanders, continues to be impressed by the support the team receives on the road. The large contingent of blue-and-white clad fans who made the five-hour drive from Toronto to Pittsburgh spent chunks of the third period loudly chanting "Go Leafs Go" on Saturday, cheers that were noticed by the players.
"Even around the hotel and around town, you could see a lot of people wearing blue," Tavares said. "It's obviously a close drive. We know how passionate the fan base is so it's great to have that."