NHL Eastern Conference Race Is Heating Up, Can the Toronto Maple Leafs Keep Up?

The Toronto Maple Leafs have been one of the hottest teams in the NHL over last month, and to most it's no surprise that they are making a run to the playoffs.

The solid and sometimes spectacular goaltending of rookie James Reimer has been a major boost for the Leafs since his arrival, and has on most occasions allowed the rest of the team to take risks that they perhaps wouldn't take otherwise.

If the Leafs are to keep pace in the East, it is one thing that can't change.

They are having what amounts to a staring contest with the New York Rangers, Carolina Hurricanes and Buffalo Sabres.

Here's what the Leafs need to do to beat them a find themselves in eighth place at the end of the regular season: don't blink.

All four teams are playing good hockey as of late and providing an almost daily shift in the positioning of the final three playoff spots.

If any of them blink for that matter, the Devils and the Thrashers cannot be counted out yet either and would be more than happy to ruin all of their plans.

The Leafs haven't made it into the post season since the NHL lockout of 2004-2005. This is not news to anyone, but this season just feels different.

A lot has been made of late season pushes in previous years that get fans excited, only to see them with their collective heads in their hands come playoff time.

The fact is, although Toronto have a .605 winning percentage after the All-Star break since the lockout, the Leafs have finished a combined 35 points out of a playoff position in the last three seasons and have gone a combined 13-14-3 over the last 10 games of each of the last three seasons.

The last three years, however, have been fraught with all kinds of difficulty and uncertainty from questions about the general manager all the way down to goaltending and everything in between.

The 2010-2011 edition of the Toronto Maple Leafs is relatively stable compared to previous seasons, with no real controversy of any kind.

That isn't to say they don't still have work to do; they are certainly not Stanley Cup contenders at this point. However, they are a young team with good speed, an up-and-coming defensive corps and really good looking depth between the the pipes.

There are no illusions surrounding this team; there is a very real chance that the Maple Leafs will make the postseason for the fist time in a long time, something that should please the fan base no matter what may occur after that.