It’s been a fun run for the Toronto Maple Leafs this season but we may be only two weeks away from another heartbreak.
As much as it pains me to write this, the Toronto Maple Leafs could very well lose once again in the First Round of the playoffs.
Are the Leafs better than the Tampa Bay Lightning? Yes, they are. However, their opposition has proven year-over-year that regardless of who they play, they’ll win.
Since the start of the 2020 NHL Playoffs, the Lightning are 11-1 in playoff series’. They won 11 consecutive series, including two Stanley Cup’s, before finally losing in six games to the Colorado Avalanche last summer.
This is an organization that was only two wins away from winning three straight Stanley Cup’s, so the fact that the Leafs have to face them once again should be a scary thought.
One of these years, the Leafs will breakthrough and finally win a series and it could be this season, but history would suggest otherwise. Whether this team is up 3-1 in a series, or has a third period lead in Game 6 with a 3-2 series lead, they find a way to lose.
So, why in the world would anything be different this year?
If the team falters, reality will set in for this organization because they clearly can’t go another year with the same group and expect a different result.
Here are three realities of a Toronto Maple Leafs First Round exit.