An absurd stat that makes the Leafs last 2 playoff losses even more frustrating
The Leafs' last 2 playoff series were vastly different from each other. In 2021, we saw a team that moonwalked their way into first place in the North Division choke away a 3-1 lead in the series. The torches and pitchforks were out as the fanbase condemned the Leafs for their subpar effort in the last 3 games of the series.
In 2022, it was a completely different story. The Leafs matched up against the back-to-back Stanley Cup Champion Tampa Bay Lighting, and even though they were the higher seed, they were underdogs in the eyes of the fans. The Leafs pushed the Lightning to the absolute limit. If not for a mistake or two and, lets be honest, some highly questionable officiating, we could be previewing a Leafs-Canes Eastern Conference final right now. So what connects these 2 series, besides the end result?
Against both Montreal and Tampa, the Leafs outscored their playoff opponents in the series. That's not a huge surprise, given the Leafs extremely potent offence. What's surprising is that in both series, Jack Campbell had a better save % than his counterpart. He managed to be better over 7 games than both Carey Price and Andrei Vasilevskiy. How many goaltenders can say they outplayed 2 future Hall Of Famers in back to back playoff series, and of those few, how many lost?
Think about that for a second, the Leafs outscored and outdueled both of their last 2 opponents in net and still, somehow, managed to lose. On the positive side of things, it's comforting to know that they're good enough to win these series. At the same time, it's so much worse that even when they are the better team with the better goalie, they still can't manage to get it done.
If anything, I would say that this is reason enough for them to come back with a roster as close to this year's as possible. They're clearly good enough as a team to make it deep into the playoffs. At this point, it's a matter of getting it done.
