Toronto Maple Leafs Random Thoughts and Bits as the Playoffs Approach
With just nine games remaining in the schedule, the Toronto Maple Leafs are playing in the final three weeks of the regular season.
The Toronto Maple Leafs’ current non-playoff opponents, the Montreal Canadiens, Pittsburgh Penguins, New Jersey Devils, and Detroit Red Wings, are positioned between a pair of back-to-back games against the Tampa Bay Lightning, who are now almost certain to make the playoffs, and the playoff-bound Florida Panthers.
The Panthers and Lightning visit Scotiabank Arena this week to kick things off. April 16 and 17 are the Leafs’ final two games of the season, traveling to the Sunshine State to play their opponents in the Atlantic Division.
It will be interesting to watch how the Leafs do against two tough opponents in the Panthers and Lightning games. Many people had the Panthers as their Stanley Cup favorite, but Lightning has a wealth of championship experience. As the Stanley Cup playoffs get closer, this is just one of the many intriguing Leafs subplots.
How hard will the Leafs train to get there is the question. It would become interesting if they stunned the Panthers at home with a makeshift group that was missing studs Mitch Marner and Morgan Rielly.
With a game remaining, the Leafs may pull even with the Panthers at four points. In addition, the Leafs have two games remaining against the Bruins. Additionally, a victory in both of those extra games would cut the deficit with the Bruins to four points. There is still a head-to-head matchup between the Bruins and Panthers, which means a loss for one of them.
There are a lot of “ifs” that need to happen for the Leafs, but there is still a slim chance that they will receive a better seed and home-ice advantage when the playoffs begin.
The Lightning are currently only four points behind the Leafs after turning things up in the final stretch. If the Leafs coast through the remaining games, they might end up as wild cards in the tournament.
Their exact first-round opponent might not be known for some time, even if the Leafs stay stagnant in the standings and the Bruins and Panthers are not far apart.
