4 Keys to Success in the Playoffs for the Toronto Maple Leafs
What things do the Leafs need to do right in the Stanley Cup playoffs to be successful?
With the Toronto Maple Leafs making the playoffs for the eighth consecutive season, this should finally be the year that they make some noise.
After all, the Toronto Maple Leafs have been stuck in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs for six of the past seven seasons, and have failed to advance beyond the second round since 2002.
So what will they need to do this time around to ensure that they have agreater chance of success in embarking in a longer postseason journey as a result?
Will the Leafs need something magical to occur, or will the stars finally align for them for once?
4 Keys to Success in the Playoffs for the Toronto Maple Leafs
Here, we will take a look at the four keys to success for the Leafs in the upcoming 2024 NHL playoffs.
Win the Special Teams Battle
With the competition at even strength often quite close in the playoffs, games can be often be won if a team manages to win the special teams battle. In recent years, we have witnessed the Leafs hitting some dry spells with their power play once the postseason began, along with a penalty kill that seemed to morph into something we can’t even decipher.
Just last year, even though the Leafs had the sixth best power play in the playoffs, they only had the 11th best penalty kill out of the 16 teams, limiting their overall effectiveness.
Even this year during the regular season, they rank in the top quarter of the league with the man advantage, but in the bottom quarter of the league when a man short.
If their struggles on the penalty kill persist, it would not bode well for the Leafs once again in the playoffs because it could lead to a less aggressive style of play with the fear that taking a penalty could come back to haunt them.
As a result, the key right now will be to get their defensive PK strategies fixed prior to the start of the playoffs. Otherwise, losing the special teams battle could lead to another early and frustrating exit for the Leafs.
Goaltending Will Need to Steal Some Games
With the game becoming more rough and the checking a lot tighter during the playoffs, goals essentially can be hard to come by as a consequence.
Therefore, very often the difference in a game could be determined by the strict play of the goalies manning the crease.
Back in the days, the Leafs had the likes of Felix Potvin, Curtis Joseph and Ed Belfour who had the capability of single-handedly winning games all by themselves. As a result, they had some great success in leading the Leafs through multiple rounds in the playoffs.
This year, both Ilya Samsonov and Joseph Woll have shown some flashes of potentially having such an ability, but in most part haven’t had the absolute standout game that we all remember where they stole one for the team.
Come playoff time, the Leafs will likely need them to be the best player on the ice and help the team steal a game or two when needed as they can’t solely rely on their offense to outscore the opposition each time. So if either one of Samsonov and Woll manages to elevate their game to another level, the Leafs will have a good shot in making a long Stanley Cup run this year.
Sheldon Keefe Needs to Make the Right Moves
For the past few seasons, Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe was often “out-coached” by the opposing team, as he appeared to have some trouble making the right adjustments at the right time to help the team build a winning formula.
Whether it was the formation and makeup of his lines, how he ended up deploying the line combinations, who he gave more or less playing time to, as well as his designed style of play both in the offensive and defensive zone, the opposing coach always seemed to be just one step ahead.
To be a successful playoff team, making the right decisions and having the right matchups is critical, as even one little misstep can ultimately change the tone of a game and perhaps even a series.
As a result, the pressure will be on Keefe this time around to find a way to maintain the advantage in the Leafs’ favour. It is about time that he shows everyone why he can get the job done with the Leafs now, just like how he did in leading the Toronto Marlies to their Calder Cup championship back in the 2017-18 season.
Star Players Need to Lead the Way
One of biggest keys to success in the playoffs is having the star players carry the team on their shoulders and lead the offensive attack. Last season, the core four of Auston Matthews, John Tavares, Mitch Marner and William Nylander, along with Morgan Rielly combined for a whopping 42 points in six games to help lead the Leafs over the Tampa Bay Lightning for their first 1st round series win in over two decades.
Just to put it into perspective, the rest of the entire team combined for just 23 points in total. So there’s no question that the big guns need to be responsible in leading the charge.
However, when the Leafs encountered the ruthless Florida Panthers during the second round of the playoffs last year, their star power was ultimately shut down by the smothering Panthers’ defense. In the end, the core four along with Rielly were held collectively to only 13 points over the span of five games in the series.
The Leafs secondary scoring did manage to help pick them up a bit, putting up a total of 16 points, but it wasn’t enough as the star power outage essentially put an end to the Leafs run for the Stanley Cup in 2023. (All stats from NHL.com and hockey-reference.com)
In order for sustained success in the playoffs this season, the stars on the Leafs roster will need to somehow find a way to maintain their prolific offensive potential no matter what ends up getting thrown at them.
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If they manage to get shut down once again this year, forget about the Stanley Cup, as they likely won’t even get out of the Atlantic Division series. As a result, their unfathomable streak of playoff failure would be sadly extended for another year.