"Thursday's game in Philadelphia will mark the third of 15 games Toronto will play in a 31-day period. But defenceman Cody Franson expects no sympathy from the other 29 NHL teams.

"That's a schedule that everybody goes through and ours just happens to be the last (February-March) portion of it," Franson said after the Leafs looked flat in a 2-1 loss in Winnipeg. "But if we plan on making that excuse right now, then it's not going to go very well for us (at the end).

"We have to get over that, accept what's coming to us and learn to play well in those situations."

Franson also sounded an optimistic note about how playing an average of almost once every two days might help down the road.

"It's possibly quicker than a playoff (series') pace," he noted."