The battle between the top-four seeds in the Atlantic Division will ultimately help the Toronto Maple Leafs when the playoffs start.
The Toronto Maple Leafs still have a chance at winning the Atlantic Division this year, but they also have a chance at finishing fourth. One hot-run could give them home-ice advantage until the Stanley Cup Finals, or one bad slide could see them on the road to start the First Round.
Ever since Auston Matthews joined the roster, the Leafs have been a playoff team. You can say that the “play-in” series doesn’t count for the playoffs, but they at least made the “post-season” that year.