Toronto Maple Leafs Have What It Takes to Make the Post Season

Since January, it has been obvious in stretches that the Toronto Maple Leafs know how to win. The beating of teams like Philadelphia and Buffalo, who are both ahead of them in the standings, is testament that the Leafs can even beat the good teams.

The trouble lies in a single word: consistency.

Fresh off of two straight wins in the middle of February over the Boston Bruins and the Buffalo Sabres, the team came out and played two brutally un-intense games against the Ottawa Senators and the New York Rangers.

The Leafs have shown that they can beat just about anyone, but their inability to play with any consistency speaks volumes to both their youth and inexperience—or does it?

The truth is, with an average age of almost 26, the Maple Leafs aren't really that young. In comparison to the rest of the NHL, they are the fourth youngest team in the league. The truth is that with the exception of James Reimer (22), Kieth Aulie (21) and Luke Schenn (21) the rest of the team is almost all above 24 years of age.

So youth for the most part is irrelevant, isn't it?

Experience is another matter all together.

Just 10 players on the current roster have any postseason experience, with just five of them having more than 20 games played in the playoffs.

Seven players have less than one full season's worth of regular season games under their belts.

All of that being said, the Leafs do have what it takes to make it to the postseason.

Any team in the league with potentially two 30+ goal scorers, another two players with 20+ goals and some solid goal tending has a shot.

The Toronto Maple Leafs finished 14 points out of the playoffs last season while scoring 2.56 goals per game; this year, they have a shot at the postseason while scoring an average of three goals per game.

Goals against per game, penalty kill and power play percentages have all improved as well. But has the team improved enough?

A team like the New Jersey Devils, who do have some high-end talent, have enjoyed a miraculous run in the last couple of months and have played some of the best hockey in the team's history.

That being said, the Maple Leafs are not the Devils.

The law of averages would suggest that the Devils' bubble has to burst eventually, and it can't come soon enough for fans of the Maple Leafs.

The Leafs are winning as well—not at the pace the Devils are, but winning nonetheless. Over the last 10 games, the Toronto Maple Leafs have managed to gain points on three of the five teams currently involved in the race for the last playoff spot in the East.

They have gained five on Carolina, three on the Rangers and three on Atlanta. The flip side to that is that they have lost ground against the Devils (-3) and the Sabres (-1).

Still, the day finds them only six points out with 13 games to go. All things being equal, the Toronto Maple Leafs have what it takes to make the postseason.