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Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Roman Polak embraces defenseman Dion Phaneuf (3) after Polak scored a goal on New York Islanders goalie Jaroslav Halak (41), of the Czech Republic, during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Uniondale, N.Y., Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2014.Kathy Willens/The Associated Press

The Toronto Maple Leafs have done it.

Mark the day, and remember it, as the Leafs are what they set out be in the off-season: a better puck-possession team.

Now that that's out of the way …

In many ways, the Leafs first seven games have revealed them to be what we thought they were. There have been two ugly, terrible losses – to Pittsburgh and Detroit, both at home – and three well-earned wins, with Phil Kessel a star in each.

Their defensive play hasn't always been pretty, and their 3-3-1 record would be good for only 82 points prorated out the rest of the year.

Last season, they disappointed with 84, so there's work to be done.

What you can see, however, is progress in the underlying areas that coach Randy Carlyle and friends have made into focal points.

Toronto was, we all recall, swamped by other teams in their own end and outshot by an average of eight shots per game last season, which was approaching an NHL record.

This year, that's down by half, to four per game, which was ahead of seven other teams entering Thursday's action.

In terms of possession, meanwhile, the Leafs have taken 47.5 per cent of shot attempts at even strength, up from only 42.8 per cent last season.

Add in decent special teams and goaltending that's been improving as the games have gone along, and there are some things to build on heading into Saturday's meeting with the Boston Bruins.

Where the gains have come, at this early stage, is interesting:

The captain: The Leafs have been better at pushing the play when Dion Phaneuf has been on the ice. A lot better.

There are number of reasons that could be, from different partners, to a lighter workload, to the fact he's on the left side as opposed to the right. But last year, Phaneuf and partner Carl Gunnarsson were simply buried in their own zone and as a result posted some of the league's worst numbers, in the 40-per-cent range. It dragged down the entire team given the central role they filled.

This season, Phaneuf is skating primarily with Cody Franson and Stéphane Robidas, and his share of the shot attempts is up to 52 per cent, one of the best marks on the team. While he's made a few defensive errors, the Leafs have been miles better at generating offensive opportunities with the captain on the ice.

It's a small sample of games, but Phaneuf's year-to-year possession jump of nearly 12 per cent is one of the highest in the league.

Holding a lead: The Leafs have been better at protects leads than they were a year ago, when they tended to go into turtle-shell mode when up by a goal or two. That showed up in a big way in territorial play, as their possession rate was around 38 per cent.

This season, they're closer to the NHL average of 46 per cent. That'll be a key the rest of the year.

Forward depth: Last season, the Leafs really didn't have any lines that drove play. Now, they're up to two.

The biggest revelation has been the third line, centred by former Vancouver Canuck Mike Santorelli. Teamed with wingers Leo Komarov and David Clarkson, they provide Toronto with energy, grit and a cycle game that had been badly lacking under Carlyle. All three are at 50 per cent or better on the possession side and have chipped in with some timely offence, too.

While the fourth line hasn't played much, the third is making good on the Leafs' off-season pledge to have better depth up front than in 2013-14.

"If they continue to play in the opposition's zone and cycle the puck and get pucks to the net the way they have in the previous games, goals will come," Carlyle said.

The same can be said for the second line as well, as Nazem Kadri, Joffrey Lupul and Dan Winnik have played reasonably well in many games but have not hit the scoresheet often.

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