Flames Sutter Calls Maple Leafs NHL's Best Team

The Calgary Flames and Toronto Maple Leafs are set to faceoff on Saturday night in Toronto in what should be a great test for the Flames. If you ask Calgary head coach Darryl Sutter, the Maple Leafs are the pinnacle in the NHL.

Sutter was trying the reverse psychology method during his media availability, as he had a ton of praise for the Sheldon Keefe ran Maple Leafs:

Toronto is on a really good roll, back-to-back shutouts, points in 13 straight. Based on that, they're the best team in the league right now. With Toronto, and I saw it last year, too, when we played them early there. Their top players - Matthews, Marner, and Tavares - those guys have taken another whole level in terms of their leadership. They're by-example-type players. It's so evident when you watch them. The big thing is, our top players have to take a step up here. It's really been missing on the road this year. We've won three games on the road ... It tells you that our best players are not playing up to what we need them to do to get points.

The Maple Leafs get the Flames on the back end of a back-to-back as they lost 3-1 to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday night. The Leafs are coming off back-to-back shutouts this week in Dallas against the Stars and at home against the Los Angeles Kings, as Matt Murray and Ilya Samsonov are getting the job done. 

Toronto sits comfortably in a playoff spot with a 17-5-6 record, meanwhile the Flames are fighting for positioning with a 13-11-3 record. Puck drop is 7pm on Saturday night from Scotiabank arena.

Photo credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports