The Toronto Maple Leafs will be visiting the Boston Bruins tonight.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have 102 points and are fifth overall in the NHL despite playing in what is *by far* the hardest division in the NHL.
In addition to playing in the hardest division, the Leafs have 10 overtime losses and only a single 5-3 power-play over the entire season.
They are also the NHL’s most injured team and have had to use the most players (45) of any team in the NHL. They are also the only competitive team that has had to use four x different goalies for a minimum of five games each.
To say their record should be much better is not an exaggeration. And, again, they’re in a solid 5th place.
Toronto Maple Leafs: “Just OK” Bruins the Luckiest Team in NHL History
The Bruins, however on another level.
They have a goal differential of +120 while the 2nd best team is +57.
They are in first place by 22 points and have a points-percentage over .800.
They are something like the best team of all time. Except of course when you look at their roster. They have a top team, no doubt. But is their roster better than the Leafs, Avs, Oilers or Lightning? Not really, not at all.
They are more like the luckiest team in NHL history than the best one.
They used two goalies this year, the Leafs used four.
The Leafs used 45 players, Boston used 32.
The Bruins PDO is 136, while the Leafs (a lucky team in 3rd overall in PDO) is 113. That is bonkers!!! (all stats naturalstattrick.com)
It is only recently, over 70 games into the season, that the Bruins 5v5 save percentage dropped below 94%. That is craziness.
At 93.88 they are still a full percentage point over the 3rd best team, with only the Wild also crazy-to-the-point-of-disbelief 93.12 being anywhere close (though, relatively, it’s not close at all).
Everything has gone right for the Bruins this year, but that can’t last forever, and unfortunately for them, they are overdue for regression at the exact wrong time of year.
They aren’t even the most likely cup winner despite their truly awesome record. They are, however, more like a lottery winning millionaire than a self-made one.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have the superior roster, and though tonight’s game is just an exhibition game, I hope these two teams meet in the playoffs so that the Leafs can prove their superiority.
No team has as good of a roster this year, and I truly believe this is the year of the Leaf.