The Leafs' next 5 opponents are not going to make climbing out of the hole they've dug for themselves easy

The Leafs are out of action until Wednesday, when they host the 5-2-1 Philadelphia Flyers, who are one of the biggest surprises of the league this year thus far under new head coach John Tortorella. The Buds will then have 2 days off before hosting the archrival Boston Bruins on Saturday.

The Bruins, 8-1-0, are the league's top team and owners of the NHL's longest active win streak at 5 straight games, and much like the Philadelphia Flyers, they Bruins have far exceeded early expectations. They started the season without 3 of their top 6 defensemen and without Brad Marchand, who has since returned (a month early) after recovering from offseason surgery.

Immediately following their home game against the Bruins, the Leafs will hop on a plane and fly to Raleigh, NC for a Sunday matchup against the 5-2-1 on the second half of a back-to-back on November 6th. The Buds will then travel home, likely to have a day off on Monday, November 7th before hosting the Vegas Golden Knights on Nov 8th in Toronto. Circle this one in the calendar, because this one will be a grudge match after the Golden Knights (8-2-0) laid a beating on the Leafs last week.

The Leafs will conclude their next 5-game stretch with the Pittsburgh Penguins on Remembrance Day (Nov 11th). The Pens, like the Leafs, have struggled to start the year, currently holding a 4-4-1 record. Like the Leafs, the Pens have also lost 4-straight.

If the Leafs want to turn things around, they're going to have a steep hill to climb against several of the NHL's top teams over the next 2 weeks. The silver-lining here is that, while the Leafs struggled against inferior opponents last season, they actually had the best record of any team in the NHL against playoff-caliber opponents last season.