Toronto Maple Leafs: Why Struggles on the Road Must Be Corrected ASAP

It's been a season of peaks and valleys for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

From extended winning streaks and a hot start (9-3-1 to be precise) to a collapse of epic proportions in February (they are a lowly 1-6-1 in their last eight contests), the Maple Leafs have led their fans on an interesting journey.

One of the bigger contrasts of the 2011-2012 season for the Leafs is the split between their play at home and their play away from the Air Canada Center.

This season, the Leafs have put up an impressive 16-10-5 record in front of their home fans, while disappointing the many who travel to see them in other cities with a lackluster 13-15-2 mark on the road.

While the title of this article may seem self-explanatory, there are two major reasons the Leafs need to improve their play away from the friendly confines of the Air Canada Center.

One has to do with getting into the postseason, while the other has to do with playing in the postseason.

Remaining Schedule

As it stands, the Leafs have currently played a fairly even number of home games and road games (31 at home and 30 on the road).

This may lead some to ask why I've included this as one of the reasons the Leafs need to improve on the road.

First, it stands to reason that in order to ensure a playoff spot this season, the Leafs will need to play more than just .500 hockey for the remainder of the campaign.

Going 6-3-1 at home would be nice, but would be wasted with a record like 5-5-1 or 4-6-1 on the road.

Those road records combined with a 6-3-1 home record would give the Leafs an 11-8-2 or 10-9-2 record over their final 21 games.

That may be problematic with all the competition they are facing for the eighth and final playoff position in the Eastern Conference.

Finishing above .500 in their final 11 road games (say 6-5-0 or 6-4-1) would almost guarantee a playoff appearance the way the Leafs are playing at home.

Another cause for concern is that once this four-game homestand concludes, the Leafs will play nine of their next 12 games away from home.

If the Leafs' road struggles continue throughout this stretch of road games, the Leafs may find themselves in too deep of a hole once they return home, where they play five of their final seven matches.

Playoff Schedule

The more obvious reason for improved play on the road for the rest of the season would be because if the Leafs were to make the postseason, they would never have home-ice advantage during the playoffs.

This means that if the Leafs were to win even one series, they would need to be successful away from home.

With the New York Rangers, Boston Bruins and Winnipeg Jets currently holding on to the top three positions in the Eastern Conference, the Leafs will have a daunting task ahead of them if they should manage to fight their way back into the postseason.

Those three clubs have a combined 56-26-7 record at their respective arenas.

An improved Leafs team on the road, coupled with an already successful Leafs team at home, may be able to upset one of the top seeds in the Eastern Conference come April.

Follow @LeafsWriterBR