Nobody should assume that anything will come easy for the Toronto Maple Leafs during the Stanley Cup playoffs. We saw that in the first round, when the Ottawa Senators won Games 4 and 5 after spotting Toronto a 3-0 series lead. The Leafs got back on track and ended the series in Game 6.
In Round 2, the Toronto Maple Leafs jumped ahead to a 2-0 series lead by beating the Florida Panthers twice on home ice. Now that Florida has evened the series by winning both of their home games, the sound of panic is in the air throughout Leaf Nation.
Did people really think that the defending Stanley Cup champion Panthers would just roll over and die?
Game 3 was a battle, and could have gone either way. Ultimately, Florida prevailed 5-4 in overtime. In Game 4, the Leafs were outworked and outplayed, losing 2-0. Still, Joseph Woll came close to stealing one with some outstanding goaltending.
Toronto Maple Leafs should be happy to be in this position
What we’re left with is a best-of-three games matchup, with the Toronto Maple Leafs having home-ice advantage. If anyone had magically offered to jump the Leafs ahead to this point at the beginning of the playoffs, most Toronto supporters would have gladly accepted.
That said, here are four questions to ponder about the state of the Toronto Maple Leafs, the answers to which will play a major part in determining whether or not the team will advance to the third round of the playoffs.