Toronto Maple Leafs Last in Northeast Division of Eastern Conference

It's spring but the Leafs have fallen to last place in their division.

They were passed by the Ottawa Senators last night and now sit last in the Northeast Division and 24th overall. The Toronto Maple Leafs (32-33-13) have 77 points and may not break 80 this season.

The Leafs are in twelfth place in the Eastern Conference, ahead of the Atlanta Thrashers, Tampa Bay Lightning, and New York Islanders.

They are in 24th place overall, with the Los Angeles Kings, Phoenix Coyotes, and Colorado Avalanche, in the Western Division, also behind them.

It was an easy 6-2 romp for the Habs last night, according to Damien Cox of the Toronto Star, and a far cry from two weeks earlier when the Leafs easily beat them 5-2 in Montreal.

Two weeks ago the Montreal Canadiens were booed off the ice after a hard loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs, according to CP, but it was a very different-looking Montreal outfit, one that captured its fifth win in six outings.

Alex Kovalev as one of the main reasons for the turnaround. He had a goal and three assists during a 6-2 victory over the Maple Leafs on Saturday to give him 15 points over the past six games.

The line of Kovalev, Alex Tanguay, and Saku Koivu had combined for 27 points in the Habs' previous five games, a 4-0-1 stretch in which Montreal stopped its slide out of an NHL playoff position.

Montreal (41-27-10) closed to within one point of Pittsburgh for sixth place in the Eastern Conference.

The Leafs are looking forward to next season, when Tyler Bozak will join Christian Hansen. The two recent signings of NCAA players have renewed Leafs' hopes for next year.