10 Reasons Why the Toronto Maple Leafs Can Still Beat the Panthers
10 Reasons the Toronto Maple Leafs Can Win This Series
10. The Leafs beat the Panthers three times already this season.
There is a reason the Leafs were hoping to play the Panthers and not the Bruins. The Panthers are a decent team, but not a great one.
These are winnable games, and winning four in a row really isn’t as crazy as it sounds. The Leafs have won almost 70 percent of the points available to them over the last few years, and teams that are that good regularly win four in a row.
9. The Leafs are the better team.
They are deeper, more talented, and better in every way. The Leafs have more stars, a better blue-line, and better goaltending.
They’ve been the better team in two of three games, and they just haven’t gotten the luck. That can’t last forever. They are due to get some puck luck, and when you put that together with their being the more skilled team, it gives them every chance there is to come back and win this thing.
8. The Toronto Maple Leafs have hit 7 posts, maybe 8, in the last three games.
They are due. Not to mention, Sergei Bobrovsky is a mediocre NHL goalie at best. The fact that he’s crushing it right now just means he’s going to be horrible against at any time. Every game the Leafs can extend the series brings us closer to the real Bobrovsky.
7. Since 2020, the Leafs have been excellent at coming from behind. They did it twice aginst Columbus, once down by 3 goals with just a few minutes left in the game.
Against Montreal, they came back twice from a multi-goal deficit to force overtime. Recently, they overcame a 4-1 disadvantage to come back and beat Tampa.
They have proven conclusively they are a hard-working team that will never quit, and so I don’t see why that won’t apply to being down in a series. This team knows what’s on the line and I don’t believe they are going to just go out like lambs.
6. The Core Four is due – they had 23 shots in game 2 but could not score. They’ve really played quite well over the last several games and will surely rebound from a rough game 3.
Sure, they didn’t have the best game in game three, but every player has a cold game. Had Matthews scored when he instead ripped it off the post 20 seconds into the game, we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now.
5. Auston. Matthews and Mitch Marner have an intense desire to overcome their reputation for failing when the games start to count.
4. Ryan O’Reilly is going to will them to victory.
3. The story of Joseph Woll leading his team back from down 3-0 is potentially one of the greatest stories in NHL history.
2. The Toronto Maple Leafs were the best team in games one and two, and they almost won game three without getting a single power-play. They are going to get a lot of power-plays as Florida chokes their lead away, and they are in prime position to take advantage.
1. After 50+ years of failing to win the Stanley Cup, 2023 is the year of the Maple Leaf. The Leafs have had a great team for years but haven’t been able to translate that into any playoff success, but they are due. I refuse to believe this team is just going to lay down and call it a season.
They are at a disadvantage, true, but they’ve got a great team, and I believe that they have a lot to prove and that they won’t quit until they are fully eliminated. A win tomorrow brings them home to Toronto where another win puts all the pressure back on Florida.
Next. The Top 10 Leafs Prospects. dark
If the Panthers, of all teams, can win six games in a row, why can’t the Toronto Maple Leafs?