Who are the Leafs' X-Factors heading into Round 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs?
With the Toronto Maple Leafs set to start the playoffs this Monday, it goes without saying Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner will need to be at their best. But to win a playoff series, you need some unsung heroes. Below is a list of potential "X-Factors" for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
1) Alex Kerfoot - Kerfoot has quietly had a very good season for the Maple Leafs. He played in all 82 games this season, finishing the year with 51 points (13 goals & 38 assists). When John Tavares was injured early in game 1 of last years post-season, Alex Kerfoot stepped up in a big way. Kerfoot took Tavares' slot as the second line center, and finished the series second on the team in playoff points with six. Kerfoot certainly did his part last playoff, and after a strong season, I will be looking for more of the same from him.
2) Ilya Mikheyev - Mikheyev is one of the fastest players in the entire league. He can create offense with his speed and is one of the best in the league at turning defensive zone starts into offensive zone time. This season Mikheyev scored 21 goals in just 53 games. That is a 32 goal pace in 82 games. Mikheyev is a premium penalty killer and leads the team in short handed goals with 4. Mikheyev is also a pending Unrestricted Free Agent, meaning he is also playing for a big contract this off-season. Mikheyev has already upped his own market value with a strong regular season, adding playoff success to his resume would up his market value exponentially.
3) Timothy Liljegren - Liljegren has grown arguably more than any other Leaf this season. Liljegren started the year bouncing between the Marlies and Maple Leafs. But in the last couple months, particularly when paired with newly acquired Mark Giordano, Liljegren has shown tremendous offensive upside, including things like this backhanded saucer pass:
Through 61 games, Liljegren accumulated 23 points this season, good for third on the team by defensemen, despite only averaging 16 minutes and 24 seconds of ice time per night. Liljegren's ice time average is the lowest of the eight defensemen on the roster heading into the playoffs. But I would expect that to change given the big step he took during the regular season. Now, Liljegren will need to prove he can continue his strong play when the games get tighter in the playoffs.
Of course, the biggest X-factor of all is going to be Jack Campbell. If the Leafs can get Campbell to play like he did last year against the Canadiens, it will give them an excellent chance to win their first round series against Tampa. Of course, we've omitted Campbell from this list because the bigger X-factor is in the opposing crease in Andrei Vasilevskiy.
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 30 | 420 ANSWERS Who are the Leafs' X-Factors heading into Round 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs? Who is the Leafs biggest X-Factor | ||
| Mikheyev | 245 | 58.3 % |
| Liljegren | 38 | 9 % |
| Kerfoot | 42 | 10 % |
| Other | 95 | 22.6 % |
| List of polls | ||
