Toronto Maple Leafs: Previewing the First 10 Post-All-Star Break Games

So the All-Star weekend is over.

If you love the Maple Leafs as much as I do, I'm sure you're glad that this week of Leafs withdrawals is coming to an end tomorrow night.

With the Leafs currently tied for the final two playoff spots, having 55 points, there is no doubt that management, the players and the fans are all eager to resume the regular season in Pittsburgh.

What exactly will the next 10 games hold in store for Toronto?

There are several tough games on the schedule, but also multiple games the Leafs should win (heck, you could call them must-wins at this stage).

Let's take a look at the upcoming schedule for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Home-and-Home with Pittsburgh

The Leafs will begin play after the All-Star break the same way they went into the break—with a two-night, home-and-home series.

This time, though, the competition will be the high-flying Pittsburgh Penguins.

Pittsburgh has won eight straight contests, dating back to Jan. 13th in Florida.

Led by the NHL leader in points, Evgeni Malkin, the return of Kris Letang on the blue line and young gun sniper James Neal, the Penguins have jumped back into the race for the Atlantic Division with the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers.

The Leafs should hope to come away from these two games with a win.

I believe taking on the Penguins right now could hurt the Leafs; a point may be the realistic outcome of this mini-series.

My Prediction: 0-1-1

The Next 5

The next five games are split up in an interesting way.

The Leafs will play three games on the road and two at home.

They'll play two teams ahead of them in the standings, and three teams below them.

Winning in Ottawa is possible, but not likely, seeing as how the Leafs have an abysmal 1-3-0 record against Ottawa this season.

The Leafs should be able to dismiss the Oilers on home ice, but they could run into trouble on a mini-road swing through Winnipeg and Philadelphia, where one point would be nice.

The final game of this five-game stretch comes on home ice against the Canadiens, where they should be able to exact revenge for the 3-1 loss on home ice the last time the Habs were in town.

This should be a .500 kind of stretch.

My Prediction: 2-2-1

Western Road Swing

The final three games of this 10-game preview will come out in western Canada.

The Leafs will start in Calgary before shooting up to Edmonton, and then they'll finish up in Vancouver.

Considering that matchup with the Canucks will be a tough one, the Leafs will need to pick up a pair of victories during their stay in Alberta.

The coaching staff and players know this, too. Expect to see two hard-fought wins to start the trip.

Whether or not the Leafs beat Vancouver will be a sign of how things will go down the stretch. Walking into Vancouver and picking up two big points against an excellent team would show everyone this team is ready for playoff hockey.

Problem is, I just don't see Toronto overcoming the depth up front or on the blue line of the Canucks, not to mention the stellar play of Roberto Luongo (or Cory Schneider).

My Prediction: 2-1-0

Conclusion

So there we have it, that's how I see the Leafs playing for their first 10 games back from the All-Star break.

A 4-4-2 record isn't necessarily bad, but it's certainly not the level of hockey the Leafs need to play if they are serious about making the playoffs.

Strangely enough, since starting 9-3-1, the Leafs are an even 16-16-4. I don't see that changing over the next 10 games.

Hopefully I'm wrong.