The Toronto Maple Leafs came within one overtime goal of sending the Ottawa Senators home for the summer Saturday night, losing 4-3 to the Sens in Game 4 of their first-round Stanley Cup playoff series. However, Maple Leafs fans shouldn’t allow their anxieties to spike anytime soon.
The reality is that the Leafs are still in commanding control of this series, and sooner or later, the Buds are bound to eliminate the Senators and move on to the second round of the post-season.
To ease your fears, Leafs fans, simply look back at Toronto’s regular-season record. When you do, you’ll find some comforting patterns. For instance, the Maple Leafs didn’t lose four straight games at any point this season. In addition, the last time they lost three games in a row was from March 3-8, and they haven’t lost two straight games since March 13-15.
If there’s one thing Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube has been good at, it’s getting the Leafs back on the right track after a loss, and why should this time be any different?
Meanwhile, let’s bear in mind the fact that Toronto will be playing at home in Game 5. The Leafs’ record in their own building was 27-13-1 this season – and Ottawa’s road record this year was a thoroughly dismal 18-19-4. Moreover, the Sens haven’t won more than three games in a row since the middle of March.
But the most comforting stat to keep in mind is that the Buds won 52 games this season. Only the Winnipeg Jets (56 wins) won more games this year, and in that regard, we don’t believe the Leafs are getting the respect they’re due. Yes, we’re well aware of Toronto’s past playoff woes, but every year is different, and this year, the Maple Leafs have shown they can take a punch and punch right back.
We’re not here to say it’s an absolute lock that Toronto wins this series, but the momentum is still in the Leafs’ favor, and one loss to the Senators on the road isn’t going to change that.
The Maple Leafs have found ways to win in the first three games of this first-round series, and that’s also something that isn’t likely to change in the next three games. A four-game collapse would surely spell the end of the ‘Core Four’ era in Toronto, but that’s far less likely than the chance of the Maple Leafs winning one of their next three games.
Ottawa can and will put up a battle the rest of the way, but the Leafs have been resilient all season long. And with Berube preparing his team and making some adjustments, we expect Toronto is going to eliminate the Senators and prepare for a second-round showdown against either the Tampa Bay Lightning or Florida Panthers. The Leafs have already done much of the heavy lifting against the Sens, and now it’s a matter of putting the finishing touches on this series and taking the next competitive step.
So relax, Maple Leafs fans. The end may not be imminent, but it may not be all that far away, either. And the most likely result is the Leafs eliminating the Senators.
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