The sports-ism often uttered around playoff time is that everything that has happened previously goes “out the window”. It doesn’t matter what a team has done to get there, this is a fresh start. It is the mentality that Toronto FC is taking going into this year’s postseason, and it is a good one to have.
Only it isn’t 100% true. The MLS Cup playoffs, by and large, can be quite random, which is part of the intrigue. But what happens before they start does matter, as going into the playoffs in good form does correlate with success.