Simon Benoit Outlines Very Clear Objective for Maple Leafs Through Their Last 18 Games

While the 26-year-old defenceman is happy to soak it all in, Benoit insists it's not his main concern at the moment.

The Maple Leafs managed to survive a shootout thriller over Utah, and Benoit says the most important thing is getting the win and staying strong down the stretch.

'We want to finish first in our division. So, for me, just as long as we win, I don't care about the rest.'

Benoit is also a new father to a baby girl, and is very much looking forward to spending time with his family and getting some rest over the short, two-day break.

'Guys are missing their families. We did a long road trip with a change of time zones, and then we lost an hour, we gained an hour. Not sure. So, obviously it affects us. But we knew that we needed to finish strong, which we did.'

While the rest is great, the Maple Leafs face a huge challenge in their next game, going up against the Florida Panthers, who are two points ahead of Toronto for first in the Atlantic Division.

Florida picked up a big piece at the trade deadline, adding Brad Marchand from the Boston Bruins -- and that was after previously acquiring Seth Jones and Vitek Vanecek. Marchand remains week-to-week, but is hoping to return before the end of the 2024-25 regular season.

The Columbus Blue Jackets, who may be the Leafs' first round opponent in the upcoming postseason, have already sent a message that they're itching for it to get underway, indicating that they hope to get the Leafs and view them as an 'easy out'.