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Toronto Maple Leafs Clinch Playoff Spot for Third Straight Year

By James Tanner

UNIONDALE, NY - FEBRUARY 26: Toronto Maple Leafs Center John Tavares (91) sets up in front of New York Islanders Goalie Robin Lehner (40) during a game between the New York Islanders and the Calgary Flames on February 26, 2019 at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, NY. (Photo by John McCreary/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
UNIONDALE, NY - FEBRUARY 26: Toronto Maple Leafs Center John Tavares (91) sets up in front of New York Islanders Goalie Robin Lehner (40) during a game between the New York Islanders and the Calgary Flames on February 26, 2019 at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, NY. (Photo by John McCreary/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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The Toronto Maple Leafs have clinched a playoff spot.

With a hard-fought 2-1 win last night against the New York Islanders, the Toronto Maple Leafs clinched their third straight playoff birth.

In an almost story-book like fashion, John Tavares scored the winning goal to clinch the playoffs for his new team against his old team, in their building.

Of course the boos rained down on Tavares all night, but he had the last laugh.

The Toronto Maple Leafs will now play the Boston Bruins, most likely without home-ice advantage, when the Playoffs begin next week.

Leafs and the Playoffs

This will be the third straight year that the Leafs qualify for the playoffs – for those counting, that’s every single year since the club drafted Auston Matthews first overall.

While another first round loss would be disappointing, I strongly caution against the “Three Straight First Round Exits” narrative that will be sure to come up, should the Leafs lose the upcoming coin-flip of a series.

The facts are as follows:

the Leafs made the Playoffs in Matthews rookie season against the predictions of virtually everyone.  They were not expected to do anything but get another high draft pick, but they ended up making the playoffs and nearly knocking off the Washington Capitals.

That they lose in six games was a credit to the team, not the start of a disappointing trend.

Again, last season, the Leafs made the playoffs and finished higher in the standings than anyone could have predicted. The set a team record for points and finished in a tie for sixth overall.  Then they played a Cup Winning team that was/is among the best in the league.

They lost, in seven games, despite being heavy underdogs, a suspension to Nazem Kadri, and a game seven melt down by Frederik Andersen.

In both series, the Leafs played well enough to win, and they might have done so with just a little luck.  Since they put up a great effort and since they exceeded expectations by about a million miles, there is no reason to criticism those seasons at all.

So this year should be seen as the Toronto Maple Leafs starting fresh.  The narrative should not be “The Leafs lose in the first round AGAIN,”  but rather “The Leafs lose for the first time since they were expected to compete for anything.”

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The circumstances the NHL has set up with their wacky seeding formula can’t be helped. I predict that the Leafs will easily dispose of the Bruins, but it’s basically a toss up.

They’ve clinched the Playoffs, and the next two weeks should be glorious.  No matter what happens with Boston, it’s been a great season.

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