Rigamarole - A Foot In The Crease - Episode 3.29

www.afootinthecrease.com

Just when it was thought the Maple Leafs march to the playoffs was all but over after a discouraging loss to Buffalo two Saturday’s ago, the buds reel off three straight victories last week and now sit four points back of eighth place Boston with…that’s right, two head to head games this coming week against the Bruins. Win those both in regulation time and all of a sudden, the Leafs are tied with the Bruins. The question is, will the Bruins still be the eighth place team at the time or will they have fallen to ninth or tenth by the time the Maple Leafs catch them.

And thus, the issue of not being too far behind eighth place in terms of points but having just too many teams to pass to get there is presented again. With just four points to make up to reach eighth place, the Maple Leafs will have to pass four teams in the process to get there which means even with two wins against the Bruins next week, help on the out-of-town scoreboard will again be necessary to make a serious bid for the final playoff spot.

This is why though it will be so heartbreaking should the Leafs miss the playoffs yet again. For the last two seasons, they have fallen just short, not included in the post season despite being arguably the hottest team down the stretch. If they were to fall out of the race with ten games to go and struggle down the stretch, it would be clear that making the playoffs wasn’t meant to be. The way it’s happened the last two years leaves so much to be desired although better play early in the year would prevent the Leafs from being in such a difficult position. Will it happen again a third year in a row? Two games against Boston this week will go a long way toward answering that question. But hey, all that was just rigamarole.