The Toronto Maple Leafs are hoping to build off what they were doing before the five-day break in their schedule, but not without a few changes. The Maple Leafs, who haven't played since losing 5-3 to the Montreal Canadiens at Air Canada Centre on Saturday, are 6-1-1 in their past eight games, including 5-0-1 on the road. However, they have given up multiple-goal third period leads in three of their past six games and have been outscored 11-5 in the third period in those six games. That includes the 2017 Scotiabank NHL Centennial Classic, when they scored four goals in the first 12:05 of the third period before allowing the Detroit Red Wings to score three in the final 7:55 to force overtime. "It should be automatic," forward James van Riemsdyk said. "We want to make it automatic when we're in the third period with a lead. We want to be able to close out games. That's what the good teams do, they basically lock it up and that's pretty much the game when you have a lead in the third period." Van Riemsdyk said third-period success, particularly in the second half, typically makes the difference between the teams that make the Stanley Cup Playoffs and the teams that don't. "That's usually when the game is on the line and usually in the third period, especially in the second half of the year, it's a one-goal game," he said. "Whether you're up one or down one, being able to play the right way in those situations, being able to find ways to win games and close out games is huge, obviously."
