The calendar just flipped to 2026, yet every game for the Toronto Maple Leafs already feels like a playoff game.
If you look at the NHL standings right now, the Leafs are currently eighth in the Atlantic Division. However, if they were playing in the Pacific Divisoin they would be in third place, comfortably in a playoff spot. Every team in the Eastern Conference currently holds a winning record, which means that every game feels like a playoff match-up.
Despite securing points in six straight games, the Leafs still find themselves at the bottom of the division, but with that being said, they're only two points out of fourth place. The division is so tight and one of the key reasons is because there are typical non-playoff teams like Detroit and Buffalo making serious pushes in the division this year.
The Atlantic Division is very crowded and instead of it typically being a battle between Tampa Bay, Florida, Boston and Toronto with seeds wrapped up in Februray, there is real parity between the eight teams and anyone of them could make the postseason this year.
It's going to be a sprint for all eight teams until February 3rd before the NHL breaks for the Olympics and those teams with less Olympic players may benefit tremendously. Auston Matthews, William Nylander and Oliver Ekmann-Larsson will represent their teams at the Olympics this year but other than that, the entire team will get a big break to rest and recover.
Every night feels like a playoff game right now
However once the teams return from the Olympics it will once again be a battle towards the playoffs as it feels like we'll have no idea who will make the playoffs until the last week.
In previous years, the Leafs would find themselves in a playoff spot in January, playing meaningless games until April, so securing that playoff mentality is very important for this roster as they've had little playoff success over the years. It's sometimes hard to flip the switch from regular season to playoffs, so playing these huge games early could be a benefit to the Leafs, as a little adversity never hurt anyone.
The Leafs currently hold the longest playoff streak in the NHL and don't want to give that up, so getting into playoff mode early will be a great test and benefit as you want to peak late into the regular season instead of early. This team clearly didn't peak early as their start was terrible, so playing every night like it's Game 7 should help this roster, if they can actually make the playoffs.
However, if they do in fact play like Game 7 every night, then based on recent history they probably won't make the playoffs, but we'll enjoy the ride otherwise.