Who's Overachieving, Underperforming for the Toronto Maple Leafs This Season?

Given that the Toronto Maple Leafs are off to a mediocre start to the NHL season, it's not surprising that individual performances have been varied.

The Leafs have been inconsistent over the last 10 days, winning twice and coming up short in back-to-back games to the Detroit Red Wings during that span.

With the club getting set to meet the archrival Boston Bruins, let's take a look at who has been overachieving and underperforming for the Leafs so far this season.

Jake Gardiner, Defenceman: Underperforming

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Jake Gardiner is a talented defender with the skills to be a top-pairing d-man for the next decade.

He has not lived up to that expectation to start the 2014-15 season. With just one assist this season and a minus-rating in three of the five games he's played, Gardiner has been an underperformer.

With a Relative Corsi number of 15.9 against decent Quality of Competition, per behindthenet.ca, Gardiner's numbers are not terrible across the board. But he has to put up points to be at his most effective.

Gardiner is too talented to not turn things around offensively, so expect him to get up to speed quickly.

Tyler Bozak, Centre: Overachieving

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First-line centre Tyler Bozak has seven points in seven games. With an 18.8 shooting percentage, it is unlikely that Bozak can continue his goal-scoring pace. This means his point pace is also likely to slow.

Bozak had his best NHL season offensively last year with 49 points in 58 games. He may have turned the corner offensively, but he's going to have to prove it over a longer period than a partial season.

The Leafs' top line has been very good when it's been clicking. Given the dearth of scoring from other lines, it appears that the Leafs will need Bozak, Phil Kessel and James van Riemsdyk to put up big offensive numbers to be successful.

Jonathan Bernier, Goaltender: Underperforming

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Jonathan Bernier was excellent in his last two starts, but his body of work has been pedestrian in 2014-15. The former Los Angeles Kings netminder has just one win in five games and a .915 save percentage.

He's been allowing more than three goals per game, and that is not good enough in today's NHL.

The Leafs need Bernier to be better than mediocre in the regular season. The playoffs will not happen next spring otherwise.

Leo Komarov, Centre: Overachieving

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Leo Komarov has five assists in seven games. While his secondary scoring has been welcomed by all Leafs fans, it's likely unsustainable.

In 2012-13, the last time Komarov played in the NHL, the physical pivot had nine points in 42 games. He had 34 points in 52 KHL contests last season, but anything more than 25 points would be surprising given his role and his linemates' offensive talents this season.

Komarov will play an integral role with the Maple Leafs this year, but don't expect him to contribute at this same rate over the course of an entire season.

All stats can be found on NHL.com unless noted otherwise.