Their longest road trip of the season is already behind them, and they went a promising 3-1-1 with a real chance to win all five games. To have it in the rear-view mirror with seven points in the bank is no small feat.
Last season, the Leafs finished October with a 4-4-2 record and a minus-three goal differential. Their penalty kill was struggling at just over 75 percent. Sheldon Keefe was perplexed by the early performance, calling the team out after losing with under a minute left against Montreal in the season opener. There was a loss to the Arizona Coyotes and a four-game losing streak to end the month (with defeats to Anaheim and San Jose in that span).