Maple Leafs rolling as struggle continues for Blackhawks

The Toronto Maple Leafs will look to build off an imperfect win when they hit the road to face the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday.

The Maple Leafs kick off a four-game trip on the heels of a 6-3 home-ice victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday.

Toronto saw a 4-0 lead become a one-goal game when Carolina scored a trio of goals in less than three minutes during the third period, but the Maple Leafs sealed the victory thanks to a pair of empty-net goals.

"Some unlucky bounces, but it was a good win," forward Steven Lorentz said. "We'll take that right after the break, after 10 days off. We're happy with it and will just get right back to it (Sunday)."

Thanks to four victories in five games, the Maple Leafs are one point behind the Florida Panthers for top spot in the Atlantic Division and boast two games in hand.

Of the half-dozen markers Toronto collected in the Carolina win, two were significant milestones. Captain Auston Matthews' insurance goal was the 389th of his career, which moved him into a tie with Darryl Sittler for second place on Toronto's all-time list. Mats Sundin is the franchise leader with 420.

As well, Alex Steeves, the 25-year-old forward who leads the American Hockey League in goals this season with 29, was summoned from the minors and opened the scoring with his first career NHL goal in his 12th big-league game.

"It felt really good. A bit of a relief. It was nice to get the game started like that," Steeves said. "Anytime anyone gets called up, you just want to make an impact. Goals are nice. I am a goal scorer and I know I can be a goal scorer at this level."

The Blackhawks are at the other end of the spectrum.

Chicago, which is ahead of only the San Jose Sharks in the overall standings, returns home after suffering a 5-1 road loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday.

Even though they are in the throes of a rebuild and destined to finish well back of a playoff spot, the losses -- especially in the manner the Columbus defeat transpired -- are wearing on the Chicago players.

"Frustrating. Especially coming off the break and a couple days of practice to prepare ourselves," forward Craig Smith said. "It's the way it goes, but it's frustrating. It's unacceptable. It's embarrassing. To a certain point, it's getting embarrassing. We have to continue to dig deep, personally, before every game."

The Blackhawks fell behind early and managed to pull close at 2-1 midway through the affair but were no match when the Blue Jackets pulled away, leaving them with only one victory in six games and two in 10 games.

Although the Blackhawks have a long way to go to be a contender, interim coach Anders Sorensen has the job of finding ways to motivate his players down the stretch, especially in games against teams either battling to make the playoffs or solidify their position in the standings.

"Pride. You have pride as a player and have pride as a group," Sorensen said. "Let's be honest, there's a lot of guys you're playing for your future, if it's for us or with someone else. You've got to be ready to go. Take pride in what you're doing. I don't think it should matter where you are in the standings."

--Field Level Media