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TORONTO — The Boston Bruins and the Toronto Maple Leafs have reason to believe they can still be better — and soon.Both teams are pretty good as it is Philadelphia Flyers Hats Womens , and they meet Monday night at the Scotiabank Arena following impressive victories on Saturday.The Maple Leafs (16-8-0), led by three goals from Andreas Johnsson and shutout goaltending by backup Garret Sparks, defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 6-0 at home, while the Bruins (13-6-4) defeated the Canadiens 3-2 in Montreal.Article continues below ...The improvement for these teams is expected to come with the return of key players from injury.The Maple Leafs are anticipating the return of center Auston Matthews from a shoulder injury within a week. Not only that, but holdout right winger William Nylander, a restricted free agent, also could be re-signed this week.“It’s my assumption we’re getting both back,” Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock said. “Obviously, we’ll be a better hockey club when we have them both. They give you a whole other line and give you much more depth. Ideally, that’s what you had in mind when you started the year. I expected to have them a lot sooner than we have, but we’ll be excited to have them both.”The Bruins can expect the return of a couple of mainstays in the coming weeks — center Patrice Bergeron (rib/sternoclavicular) and defenseman Zdeno Chara (knee).Meanwhile, the Bruins are receiving some good play from their younger players.“The team’s growing in front of our eyes,” Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said after the game Saturday. “Young guys that need to learn how to win. Listen, I don’t want to call it playoff hockey in November, but we are in close games every night. To me, that’s playoff hockey and you have to be comfortable in these games.”The Bruins won when defenseman John Moore scored his first goal of the season on a power play at 17:03 of the third period. The Bruins also had defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-1 in overtime Friday night at the TD Garden.Jake DeBrusk scored his seventh goal in his past nine games Saturday, giving him 10 for the season. He was playing on a line with Danton Heinen and David Krejci for the second game in a row.“By far our best line Custom Philadelphia Flyers Jerseys ,” Cassidy had said following the win over the Penguins.“Kind of nice that I struggled earlier,” DeBrusk said. “Because now it makes me hungrier to get more goals.”David Backes also scored his first goal of the season for Boston in Montreal.“I’ve quit thinking,” Backes said. “Thinking is, uh, paralysis when you’re in slumps. It was a quick play and that was good for me. Get it, look for a hole and shoot it as hard as I could. It was a beautiful sight in my mind to see the puck go off my stick and into the net.”The Maple Leafs had been falling into a rut before they scored early and often against the Flyers, taking a 4-0 lead 12:20 into the game with three of the goals scored by Johnsson.“After (the third goal) it kind of felt unreal,” Johnsson said. “It’s hard to explain. I had the first goal, then the second goal and, all of a sudden, the third one, I’m like, ‘what’s going on?'”In their three previous games, the Maple Leafs had fallen behind 2-0 and lost two of them on the road to the Caroline Hurricanes Wednesday and the Columbus Blue Jackets Friday. Until those games, the Maple Leafs were 9-1-0 on the road.They did come back Monday to beat the Blue Jackets 4-2 at home after falling behind 2-0.Saturday marked the second Maple Leafs home game in a row without a penalty being called on either team.The teams met on Nov. 10 at Boston with the Bruins winning 5-1 led by David Pastrnak’s three goals. DENVER (AP) Colorado defenseman Patrik Nemeth set career highs this season in goals, games and perhaps even grudges.See what a little chip on the shoulder can do?Waived by Dallas in October, he was claimed by Colorado soon after and has played an integral role in helping the Avalanche return to the postseason. He’s not alone: These playoffs are filled with castoffs who were put on waivers www.sanjosesharksteamshop.com , only to find a revamped role with a new team.It’s not personal. It’s just business. Players realize this. But still, being waived goodbye is hard to swallow.”Of course you want to prove them wrong,” said Nemeth, whose team trails 3-1 heading to Nashville for Game 5 on Friday night. ”You want to prove you can play and that they were wrong. That’s always going to be in the back of your head – at least for me.”When Avs defenseman Mark Barberio was cut by Montreal last year, so many thoughts swirled through his head: What went wrong? Next stop, the minors? Is there still even a role for him in the league?It was a whirlwind 24 hours – the amount of time teams have to make a claim – before the Avs picked him up.”Colorado saw something in me and decided to give me a chance,” Barberio said. ”I’ve gotten a chance to play regular minutes, and a coaching staff I feel believes in me. I’m trying to repay that faith every time I play.”That sort of feeling is shared by center Ryan Carpenter, who was claimed by Vegas from Anaheim on Dec. 13. He’s now heading to the second round with the expansion Golden Knights. Carpenter had a key assist in a Game 3 win over Los Angeles.”It’s amazing … how things can change in pro hockey,” Carpenter said on the team’s website. ”I feel like a little kid right now playing in playoffs. It’s exciting and we want to keep this thing going. It’s nice when you feel like you’re contributing. I never would’ve though in the middle of December I’d be playing right now.”Minnesota defenseman Nate Prosser was in a similar boat. He was claimed after St. Louis put him on waivers in late November, returning the nine-year NHL veteran to his home-state team for another stint. The Wild previously claimed Prosser off waivers from St. Louis on Oct. 2, 2014, after he had signed with the Blues that summer but was let go just before the season.A reliable defenseman, he has taken on added responsibility after an injury to Ryan Suter.”It puts the onus on the rest of us to amp up our game a little bit,” Prosser said. ”Just different parts of the game we’ve got to make sure we’re honing in on.”Then there’s Stefan Noesen , who’s had quite a path to wind up with the New Jersey Devils. Drafted by Ottawa in the first round in 2011 and traded to Anaheim in ’13, he was claimed by the Devils on Jan. 25 San Jose Sharks T-Shirts Womens , 2017. He had his first playoff goal in Game 3 against Tampa Bay.”Just because you get put on waivers doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t play,” Nemeth said. ”Sometimes the situation is the way it is and you need a new opportunity.”That was the case for Nemeth, a second-round pick by Dallas in 2010. He played in a career-high 68 games for Colorado, with three goals, 12 assists and a plus-27 rating, which was the highest by an Avalanche defenseman since Adam Foote in 2002-03 – the benefits of a change in scenery.”It could be different scenarios,” Nemeth said of factors leading to being placed on waivers. ”Sometimes, it’s just too many guys. Sometimes, your coach might not like you or might not appreciate what you bring to the table. It’s just different, depending on what situation you’re in. For me personally, it was good.”Avalanche defenseman Duncan Siemens went through the experience last fall – with his own team. He was reassigned to San Antonio in the American Hockey League before spending the last seven weeks with Colorado. He made his playoff debut in the Predators series.”This is such a competitive league,” said Siemens, a first-round pick by Colorado in 2011. ”There are so many good hockey players out there. Your first chance could be your last chance. Anytime you get an opportunity, you have to make the most of it because you don’t know if you’re going to get another one.”—AP Sports Writer Dave Campbell contributed to this report.—