Leafs’ defining road trip begins against greatest rivals

On paper, it looks daunting: a six-game, two-week road trip by the Maple Leafs that will go a long way toward determining home-ice advantage for the playoffs, and ends a few days before the NHL trade deadline.

And it starts Saturday at the Bell Centre against their historic rivals, the Montreal Canadiens, with second place in the Eastern Conference up for grabs.

So, what does Morgan Rielly think of all this?

“I’ve got to pack,” said the star defenceman. “That’s about it.”

That’s the kind of approach preached by coach Mike Babcock — workmanlike, one day at a time, don’t get too far ahead of yourself — who blessed his team with an unscheduled day off Friday.

“It’s a real good opportunity for our team,” Babcock said on a conference call. “We’ve got a lot of young guys. Getting on the road will be fun. We’re going to some nice spots and playing good teams.

“It’s like anything: The next game you play is the important one. We’re playing Montreal. We have a back-to-back (Sunday in New York against the Rangers), but no sense worrying about that. You have to worry about the first one. That’s where our focus is.

“We had the three-on-three (outdoor tournament at Nathan Phillips Square on Thursday). It would have been great to have an off day (Thursday) and practice (Friday). That’s not the way it worked out. We thought it was important to be as fresh as we could going into what we’re doing.”

After Montreal and New York, the Leafs stop in Colorado, Vegas, Arizona and St. Louis. They lead each of those teams in the overall standings, albeit the edge on Montreal (one point) and Vegas (three) is negligible.

But given the Leafs are 16-6-2 on the road, the second-best away record in the NHL, the team has to be confident.

They’re also 4-0-1 in their last five.

“It’s a different time of year,” Rielly said the other day. “These games are important. The points on the line are big. We’re motivated. We understand what’s at stake. We’re prepared. We feel good about where we’re at. We have confidence.”

In Montreal, they’ll face a team that is 8-1-1 in its last 10 — led by a red hot Jonathan Drouin — and will have fans singing “Ole, Ole, Ole” from the rafters. It’s their second meeting of the season. The Leafs won the first, 3-2 in overtime, to open the schedule.

It could well be a playoff preview between teams that haven’t faced each other in the post-season since 1979.

“We say that every year, that this could be a playoff game, but none of them compare to the playoff games because it’s impossible. The playoffs are different,” said Babcock.

“In saying that, they’re a team that’s doing well, we’re a team that’s doing well. We’d both like to be higher in the standings. It’s an important game. We’re good hockey club, they’re a good hock- ey club. Something has to give.”

It could be the most significant meeting since April 7, 2007, when the Leafs needed to win in regulation to keep their playoff hopes alive and managed to do it, 6-5 — eliminating the Habs. The Leafs’ hopes were dashed the next day when the Islanders beat the Devils to take the final playoff spot.

“The Montreal-Toronto thing … both teams haven’t been good (at the same time),” Babcock said of his Leafs’ tenure. “This is the first time both teams look like real hockey clubs. I’m really impressed with Montreal — their structure, their speed.

“It will be fun for us. My favourite rink to go into is Montreal, just because (of ) the pageantry, the history, the pride, the fans. It’s a great place to play.”