Recipe for Disaster: Toronto Maple Leafs' Record Versus Playoff Teams

The Toronto Maple Leafs have played decent hockey for nearly two-thirds of the season, but a quick look at their record against currently-ranked playoff teams shows that they were by no means a playoff-worthy team at any point this year.

Take a quick glance at the numbers below and you'll realize that Toronto is not the team that GM Brian Burke would have fans believe it is.

Brace yourself if you're a fan of the Blue and White, because these statistics aren't for the faint of heart.

Eastern Conference
Team	GP	Record	GF	GA	GA/AVG	GA/MRG	PTS
NYR	3	2-1-0	8	7	2.3	+1	4
BOS	6	0-6-0	10	36	6	-26	0
FLA	4	0-4-0	9	20	5	-11	0
PIT	4	2-1-1	11	10	2.5	+1	5
PHI	3	0-2-1	5	8	2.6	-3	1
NJD	3	1-0-2	10	10	3.3	0	4
OTW	6	3-3-0	20	17	2.8	+3	6
WAS	4	1-3-0	11	11	2.7	0	2
Total	33	9-20-4	84	119	3.6	-35	22 of 66

Western Conference
Team	GP	Record	GF	GA	GA/AVG	GA/MRG	PTS
STL	1	1-0-0	2	2	2	0	2
VAN	2	0-2-0	5	11	5.5	-6	0
DAL	1	1-0-0	3	3	3	0	2
NAS	1	0-1-0	1	4	4	-3	0
DET	1	1-0-0	4	3	3	+1	2
CHI	1	0-1-0	4	5	5	-1	0
COL	1	0-0-1	2	3	3	-1	1
LAK	1	0-0-1	2	2	2	0	1
Total	9	3-4-2	23	33	3.6	-10	8 of 18

Combined Totals
GP	Record	GF	GA	GA/AVG	GA/MRG	PTS
42	12-24-6	107	152	3.6	-45	30 of 84

To say that the Leafs' record against teams currently in playoff position is poor would be putting it lightly—it’s downright atrocious.

Not to further pile it on Leafs fans, but consider these statistics as well:

• Winning Percentage: .285
• Points Earned Percentage: .357
• Toronto's GF/AVG: 2.5

Need I say more?

The most troubling statistic is arguably the goals against margin. Being outscored by one goal on average may not sound like a lot, but over the course of 42 games—well, you get the idea.

So, did the Leafs play decent hockey this year? Yes, at times.

Were the Leafs ever playoff worthy? Arguably, no.

Granted, statistics represent just one form of analysis. Toronto would have benefited from improved goaltending, defensive structure and coaching, to list a few. But when the chips are down they absolutely pale in comparison to teams that currently hold a playoff position. 

Burke says his team is capable of making the playoffs in the future. Do you believe him or are significant changes needed first?

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