Fansided · Aug 7, 2019
Toronto Maple Leafs: Earth to Babcock Matthews “Earned It” Years Ago
The Toronto Maple Leafs lost in the first round of the playoffs.
For the third straight year, the Toronto Maple Leafs failed to make it out of the first round of the playoffs.
When you say it like that, it sounds terrible, but the Leafs are progressing towards being one of the NHL’s best teams, and it’s important to contextualize their three losses before drawing sweeping conclusions.
This past season for instance, they lost to the Bruins but:
Kadri was suspended
Dermott and Gardiner were both playing hurt
Boston scored seven power-play goals in seven games (that’s a lot).
The Leafs outplayed them at 5v5
Mike Babcock screwed up