The Stanley Cup playoffs can teach us something, whether it's in success or in failure.
Sometimes these lessons stick. Sometimes they're lost in time. Sometimes, by the end of the postseason, there are new lessons to learn.
Here are eight hard lessons from the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs through Monday night's action.

The Leafs are Cup-worthy
Yes, I mean the Stanley Cup. Why do you ask?
Oh right, because it's the Toronto Maple Leafs. They haven't played for the Cup since winning it for the final time in 1967, a drought of 56 seasons.