3 Questions the Maple Leafs Must Answer to Gain Postseason Success

There’s no question that the Toronto Maple Leafs are one of the best teams in the NHL right now. Although they lost 3-2 to the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night, Canucks’ head coach Bruce Boudreau was clear that his team (a) was saved by piping hot goalie Thatcher Demko and (b) was lucky to win. Boudreau’s admission was that he was proud of his team for hanging in there against a more powerful opponent and “the fastest team he’s seen all season.”

That fast and powerful team is set to break franchise records for wins and points in a season. However, as many Maple Leafs’ fans will tell you – none of that matters unless the team can get through an Atlantic Division series. And, that’s likely to be a tough task given that the Atlantic Division and the Eastern Conference are absolutely loaded with good teams.

In this post, I want to offer three key questions I believe the Maple Leafs must answer if they’re to successfully get through the Eastern Conference playoffs and emerge for the first time in so many seasons into the Stanley Cup.

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Question One: Does the team have sufficient goaltending to win during the postseason?

Simply put, the Jack Campbell who started the season could successfully carry the team successfully through a postseason series; however, the Jack Campbell we’re seeing now could not. Can Campbell regain his early regular-season form and carry that form into the playoffs. If he can, there’s a chance he’ll give the team a chance to beat one of the Florida teams and probably meet the other one. If he gets on a roll, who knows?

It’s not likely Petr Mrazek can carry the team well enough to do so. And, it’s also not likely that having Mrazek do so was even part of the organization’s plan. If the Maple Leafs are to get into the Stanley Cup finals, it will have to be Campbell who carries them there.

Over the remainder of the season, expect the team to share the load between Mrazek and Campbell. Always the goal will be to keep Campbell at his best – physically and mentally – for the postseason. There are 37 games left, and I can’t imagine one goalie – save for an injury – playing more than 20 of them.

Question Two: Can the Maple Leafs compete successfully without being physical. Or, can they overcome physical play with focus and skill?

I believe, and I might be in the minority, that this team can compete successfully during the postseason. Most people believe the team is not physical enough and use the game against the Calgary Flames as an example of how the team will get pushed around. The question is, does the team have to play a “heavy” game to win?

There’s no doubt that the Flames pushed the Maple Leafs around and dominated them physically last week. Would it have mattered if it wasn’t Jake Muzzin’s first game back from his concussion? Would Wayne Simmonds, who was with his wife for the birth of their second child, have made a difference? 

I have no doubt that, if the Maple Leafs focus right out of the gate each and every game, they have the offensive talent, speed, and tenacity – if they choose every moment to use it – to take over a game. I believe they can buzzsaw opponents with their offense and skill on special teams. But can they stay defensively organized and compete defensively against teams that try to beat them into submission? Can they make the physical game irrelevant?

Question Three: Can William Nylander once again carry this team?

You will note that I didn’t put Auston Matthews’ name into that mix. And, right now I’ll withhold my thinking about Mitch Marner’s recent success. That’s because I think both might have taken the next step in their development and won’t be caught tired or impotent during the playoffs. I believe neither has forgotten what happened last season as his team when both personally wilted against the Canadiens. 

What we know about William Nylander is that he was one player who came through during last season’s playoffs. We also know he was totally committed to playing both offensively and defensively dominating hockey earlier in the season. He was headed for a career season. Can that Nylander return with the determination he needs to lead this team? 

Nylander can relax into his comfort zone on the ice, and he’s good enough to play with some success even when he’s playing comfortable hockey. But, when he’s motivated, he can really play overwhelming hockey. There was a sequence during the game against the Canucks – I think during the second period – when Nylander made a mistake, got frustrated or embarrassed, and he really decided to turn it on. In the end, he wasn’t successful in scoring, but did he ever carry the play for those minutes.

The question is whether Nylander can get re-motivated? Can he regain his competitive edge? Can he invigorate the performance level he demonstrated during the opening-round series against the Canadiens last May and this season prior to the All-Star break? If he can stay more involved over the course of a Stanley Cup series and run, he has the skill to carry the team.

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