The Toronto Maple Leafs are within striking distance of the Atlantic Division crown.
Last night’s shut-out of the New York Islanders, combined with yet another Bruins loss, has moved the Toronto Maple Leafs to within six points of the Bruins.
The teams in fact have the exact same 24-19 record, but the Bruins have lost six more games in over-time, while the Leafs lost their games in regulation.
The Leafs could have caught them already – the Bruins are 4-6 in their last ten, while the Leafs are 9-0-1. I don’t understand how there are rules in place that give a team who lose once in 10 games just five more points than a team that lost six times and has a losing record, but no one really does.
The NHL standings are a joke.
Also a joke: the NHL playoff format.
Toronto Maple Leafs Have no Choice but to Win Division
The NHL’s three best teams are in the Atlantic Division. Tampa, Toronto and Boston have the league’s best rosters, and yet one of them is all but guaranteed to be out after the first round.
Out of the three power-house teams, two of them will have to play each other in the first round. Funny that no one ever mentions this when denigrating the Leafs for losing twice in a row to the Bruins in the opening round.
The worst part, is that whoever wins (barring an upset like last year that allowed the Bruins to waltz to the finals) has to face the division winner.
Basically, whichever team fails to win the Atlantic but advances to the second round out of these three contenders has the most ridiculous path to the Stanley Cup imaginable.
It’s a competitive disadvantage that wouldn’t be necessary if the playoff seeding wasn’t designed by an idiot.
So despite having the exact same record as the Bruins, the Toronto Maple Leafs are currently in second, but Tampa has games in hand and is – for all intense and purposes – in first (despite being technically third).
It’s exciting and all, but the Toronto Maple Leafs can’t let their foot off the pedal. They’ve made up a ton of ground since they hired Sheldon Keefe (they had so many games in hand that it might not seem that way, but they have).
The Atlantic Division is there for the taking. The Leafs must find a way to win the Division, because otherwise the path to the Stanley Cup includes playing the two hardest series first.
Sure, a month ago just making the playoffs seemed like a good thing. But it’s not. The Leafs are trying to win a Cup, not just have a decent season. The best way to do that is to win the Division.