3 Reasons Why Toronto Maple Leafs Need to End Series Tonight

MONTREAL, QC - MAY 25: Auston Matthews #34, Jake Muzzin #8 and Mitchell Marner #16 of the Toronto Maple Leafs congratulate goaltender Jack Campbell #36 on their win over the Montreal Canadiens in Game Four of the First Round of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Bell Centre on May 25, 2021 in Montreal, Canada. The Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Montreal Canadiens 4-0. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) /

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TORONTO, ON – MAY 20: Corey Perry #94 of the Montreal Canadiens fights Nick Foligno #71 of the Toronto Maple Leafs (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) /

No. 1: Allow More Time For Injuries to Heal

The Toronto Maple Leafs are up 3-1 in the series without having two of their top-six forwards for most of the playoffs.

John Tavares was injured 10 minutes into Game 1, while Nick Foligno has missed the last two games. Despite playing without two veteran leaders, the team has played great and hasn’t had to worry about offensive production.

Although the Leafs would prefer Foligno in their lineup, Alex Galchenyuk and Alex Kerfoot have stepped up in his absence. The second-line looked especially good in Game 4 and there’s no reason to believe they can’t sustain that for Game 5.

Instead of rushing Foligno back, the team should continue to rest him in Game 5 and give him more time to heal.

They’re going to need him back for the next series more than they will against Montreal right now, so by winning the series in five games, it would allow him more time to rest and get back to 100 percent.

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