Leafs' first-round playoff opponent could be an unfamiliar foe

The Toronto Maple Leafs haven’t exactly finalized their playoff matchup, but it seems pretty much a guarantee they’ll be heading back to the postseason for an eighth year in a row.

As things stand in the Atlantic Division right now, two first-round opponents have circled the team for months: the Florida Panthers and the Boston Bruins.

With Toronto seemingly too far away from finishing first or second in the division, their destiny seems set as the third place in the division, with their opponents having home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

Fans have long lamented the current playoff format for its predictability — while it’s nice for starting and stoking rivalries, it has the unintended consequence of making the regular season feel meaningless at times for teams that may know their likely playoff matchups well in advance.

Toronto, of course, has recent history in the playoffs with both clubs: having played Boston in 2013, 2018, and 2019, losing all three times in Game 7, and losing a second-round series to the Panthers in five games last spring.

There is, however, another possibility: Toronto falls into the first Wild Card position, and then potentially lines up against the Metropolitan Division champion, should they finish second in the overall Eastern Conference standings. Toronto is just four points up on the Tampa Bay Lightning, so it’s not completely out of the realm of possibility.

As it stands right now, that team that Toronto could face out of the Metropolitan Division would be the New York Rangers, currently leading the way in their division with an even 100 points.

If the Rangers and Leafs were to meet in the playoffs, it would be the first postseason contest between the two Original Six sides since the 1970-71 season.

Eight teams made the playoffs in the 12-team league, with the Rangers and Leafs meeting up in the first round. Toronto lost in the first round to those Rangers in a six-game battle, before the Rangers fell to Chicago in the NHL semifinals. Ultimately, though, it was another Original Six side that won it all, with Montreal taking home the Stanley Cup that season.

There’s also the outside chance the Carolina Hurricanes, three points back of the Rangers, win the division and match up against Toronto instead, if they were to falter into a Wild Card spot. That rematch would be a little bit more recent than 1971, though the teams haven’t met in the postseason since the 2002 Eastern Conference Finals.

For now, it’s a waiting game to see exactly how everyone’s season finishes out, with every team in the league having 12 games or less remaining in their regular season schedule.

You might also like:
• "Egregious": Leafs called out by Keefe for defensive woes