5 Observations on the Toronto Maple Leafs Six Game Winning Streak

The Atlantic Division Is Still Up for Grabs

It wasn't long ago that the Atlantic Division Title appeared to be lost to the Leafs.

But that was before Boston lost four in a row and was caught by Florida. It was also before the Leafs won six in a row and 10 of their last 12.

The importance of winning the Atlantic Division cannot be overstated. If you don't win it, there is a very good chance you have to run an insane Florida-Boston gauntlet just to get to the Eastern Conference finals where would then play a team who didn't have nearly as hard of a path through the playoffs.

In an ideal world, you win the division, play Philadelphia and then take on the winner of Florida/Boston after they beat the hell out of each other.

Currently, the Leafs are eight points back of Boston with two games in hand. They are also just six points back of Florida with one game in hand.

That kind of sounds worse than it is. If they win both their games in hand against Boston, they'd be just six points back, and in baseball parlance that's only 3 games. 2 games back of Florida, with just under 30 games to go.

It's doable, especially the part about catching Boston. They cannot possibly maintain the level of save percentage they have recieved over the last 130-odd games. Eventually they will crack and their lineup will more closely resemeble in the standings how it looks on paper.

Statistically, the Leafs are exactly what we've been saying about them all year - a team with a great core that can win any game where they get decent goaltending and avoid too many mistakes. They are 14th in the NHL in 5v5 expected goals, which is the best predictive stat that there is in the NHL.

Since February 1st, however, they are 8th. They are getting better, and they will soon get a few upgrades. Things are looking good for the Toronto Maple Leafs when it comes to a potential division title.