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Toronto Maple Leafs Can Still Tie For 1st in NHL Standings

By James Tanner

TORONTO, ON - FEBRUARY 4: Jason Spezza #19 of the Toronto Maple Leafs gets set to take a faceoff against Tyler Motte #64 of the Vancouver Canucks during an NHL game at Scotiabank Arena on February 4, 2021 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Maple Leafs defeated the Canucks 7-3.(Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - FEBRUARY 4: Jason Spezza #19 of the Toronto Maple Leafs gets set to take a faceoff against Tyler Motte #64 of the Vancouver Canucks during an NHL game at Scotiabank Arena on February 4, 2021 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Maple Leafs defeated the Canucks 7-3.(Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) /
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The Toronto Maple Leafs can no longer win the President’s Trophy, but with some luck they could finish in a tie for first place….or can they? (Unbeknownst to me, the tie-breaker turns out to be regulation wins and not total wins, giving the Leafs a slight chance.  Read the rest of this with that in mind and accept my apology for getting it wrong).

The Las Vegas Golden Knights currently have 80 points, the maximum the Toronto Maple Leafs could finish with, but they would win any tie-breaker owing to their 39 wins.  The Leafs can max out at 37.

The only team that could still catch the Knights is the Colorado Avalanche who, if they win both their remaining games, could surpass the Knights, if the Knights lose their last game.

While the Leafs are out of the running for their first ever President’s Trophy, they can still tie for first which is a great accomplishment. (Standings from TSN.ca).

Toronto Maple Leafs and the Final Standings

If the Leafs were to win their final two games (against Ottawa on Wednesday and Winnipeg on Friday) they would finish with 80 points.

Colorado plays LA twice, and if the Kings win at least one of those games in regulation, the Avs maximum total would be 80, tying them with the Knights and Hurricanes, and leaving room for the Leafs to tie.

The Hurricanes are done, but the Knights still have one more game.  They play the Sharks tomorrow and if they win, they will have 82 points and be out of Toronto’s reach.

If the Avs win both games, they win the President’s Trophy.  They have more wins in regulation than the Knights, so even if the Knights also win their San Jose game, the Avs will win the President’s Trophy.  If Colorado wins just one of their games, but the Knights lose theirs, Colorado will still win the President’s Trophy.

In order for the Leafs to tie for first, they would need to beat Ottawa and Winnipeg. Additionally, the Knights would have to lose to Sharks in their final game, while LA would need to beat the Avs at least once in regulation.

It is possible, though unlikely, that there could be a four-way tie for first place in the overall standings – Colorado, Vegas, Carolina and Toronto.  I have no idea if that’s ever happened before, but I doubt it.

The worst the Leafs can finish is in 8th overall, which doesn’t really do credit to their awesome season, so I’m really hoping they can at least win one of their last two games.  If they win at least one more game, the worst they could do is 5th place, four points out of first.

Next. Leafs Top 5 Best Playoff Matchups. dark

As great as this season has been, it’s hard not to think of all the points they lost because their power play (best in the league by expected goals) couldn’t score for a month.  Regardless, no matter how this season finishes, the Toronto Maple Leafs have had one of their best years in team history.

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