Maple Leafs clinch 1st division title in 21 years

The Toronto Maple Leafs locked up first place in the North Division with a 3-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday.

It's the first time since 1999-2000 that the Maple Leafs have finished atop their division. Toronto will own home-ice advantage through at least the first two rounds of the playoffs.

The Leafs have won seven of their last eight outings and improved their record to 35-13-6 on the campaign. The club is playing at a franchise-best 53-win pace over a full 82-game season.

Toronto took a major step forward defensively this year after adding rearguards TJ Brodie and Zach Bogosian in the offseason. The Leafs rank fifth in goals for per game (3.36) and eighth in goals against per contest (2.60) after finishing 25th in the latter category in 2019-20.