The oddsmakers suggest that the Toronto Maple Leafs will miss the playoffs for the first time in 10 years, but there are three reasons to be optimistic.
It's hard to believe that the Leafs are last in the Eastern Conference through 22 games after winning the Atlantic Division last year. We've seen tough stretches of hockey throughout the regular season over the past nine years, but it's never been this bad.
With a goal differiential of -8, you could argue that the Leafs are a few bounces away from being right near the top of the conference, as six of their 13 losses have been one-goal games.