The regular season will bear no fruit for the Leafs, win or lose
The Leafs really are in a no-win situation this year in the regular season. Here we have a team on pace for their best season ever, a franchise player heading towards a second straight Rocket Richard Trophy and the best D core we've seen since names like McCabe and Kaberle were on the roster. Still, the fans aren't happy. As a matter of fact, they're downright angry.
Of course, I'm not saying that this is the fans' fault, quite the opposite in fact. The Leafs have had regular season success in spades ever since Matthews, Marner and Nylander broke into the league. Every year they look great, every year they are touted as contenders. But every year they bow out early. The 2017 series against the Washington Capitals is the only truly excusable loss. Overperforming rookies snuck into the playoffs and gave a heavily favourited, veteran Washington team all they could handle for 6 games. Since then, it's been dud after dud, with the most recent series being the worst and by far the most embarrassing of the bunch.
This has driven the fanbase, well, crazy. To the point where if the Leafs play well in the regular season, nobody cares. It's all about the playoffs. If they don't play well however, dark clouds gather and the sky begins to fall. This is especially true for any time goalies or defensemen are struggling. Is it fair to the team? No. All they can do is play the games on the schedule. At the same time, you can't blame fans for being skeptical and unforgiving.
Still, it's an odd situation to be in. Your wins mean nothing, but your losses mean everything. Win and it's «do it in the playoffs» lose and it's «this team can't win in the playoffs». The only remedy for this phenomenon is, obviously, winning in the playoffs - but the Leafs have 30-odd games to go until they even reach the dance floor.
In a cruel twist of fate, the first round of this years playoffs may well be the toughest they've seen. As they currently stand, the Leafs would play the 2-time defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning in round 1. If they can get through that, the road to breaking the Ballard curse gets easier, but it's a tall order for a team with a history of playoff failures.
In their present situation, with Jake Muzzin seemingly out long term, both goalies struggling and a slumping second line, it's hard to be positive about this group, or envision a scenario where they make the second round. If they do, however, it will go a long way to restoring the faith of a very jaded fanbase.
