For the third straight year, the Toronto Maple Leafs failed to make it out of the first round of the playoffs.
When you say it like that, it sounds terrible, but the Leafs are progressing towards being one of the NHL’s best teams, and it’s important to contextualize their three losses before drawing sweeping conclusions.
This past season for instance, they lost to the Bruins but:
- Kadri was suspended
- Dermott and Gardiner were both playing hurt
- Boston scored seven power-play goals in seven games (that’s a lot).
- The Leafs outplayed them at 5v5
- Mike Babcock screwed up
Seven games is a short series and anything can happen, and as the Leafs proved, the best team doesn’t always win.