Unfortunately for the Leafs, their Achilles heel over the last 6 seasons is something they have no control over
Don't look now, but over the last 25 games, the Atlantic Division reigns supreme in the NHL, with the Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning leading the league over that span.
The Bruins have put together a 19-4-2 record over their last 25 games. The Leafs aren't far behind, putting up a 17-4-4 record over the same span and the Tampa Bay Lightning are 18-7-0. Putting up 42, 38 and 36 points respectively, the Bruins, Leafs and Bolts are #1, 2 and 3 in the NHL during the last 25 games.
With the NHL seemingly married to the current Wild Card playoff structure, it's highly unlikely that we'll see the return of the 1st vs 8th, 2nd vs 7th, 3rd vs 6th, 4th vs 5th structure back, which means that the road to the Cup in Toronto is always going to go through the top teams in the league until they can get over the hump and finish atop the division.
The sad reality is that it's not just the last 25 games that the Leafs have been up against it. It's actually been the past 6 seasons. Over the past 6 years, the Tampa Bay Lightning leads the league in points with 569. The Bruins are 2nd on the list with 567 points and the Leafs currently sit in 3rd over the last 6 seasons with 537 points.
We all know that the Leafs have choked away a lot of points in the standings, especially in recent years, against inferior opponents like Arizona, Buffalo, Ottawa and Montreal. It's frustrating to think that this team could be a legitimate Presidents Trophy contender were it not for these lackluster performances against the league's basement teams.
| POLL | ||
12 JANVIER | 235 ANSWERS Unfortunately for the Leafs, their Achilles heel over the last 6 seasons is something they have no control over Are the Leafs a legitimate top-3 team in the NHL? | ||
| Yes | 179 | 76.2 % |
| No | 56 | 23.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
