3 Reasons Why the Toronto Maple Leafs Now Have Home Ice Advantage.

Let's all take a deep breath and let these past two games that the Maple Leafs played sink in. The Toronto Maple Leafs, the final team to clinch a playoff berth, has taken the NHL's best team in the 2016-2017 to back-to-back overtime games, while arriving back to Toronto with a 1-1 series split. While no supporters of the Toronto Maple Leafs are complaining, it begs the question How are the Toronto Maple Leafs playing so well against the Washington Capitals?

1. The Leafs Match Up Better Against the Capitals than Expected

Through the 2016-2017 season, the Toronto Maple Leafs met up with their playoff combatant 3-times, which saw the post a 1-1-1 record against the Capitals. The one game the Leafs did lose in regulation to Washington came at the end of the season, where the team was playing their second game of a back-to-back where they travelled from Buffalo to Toronto for their matchup. Based off of how the Leafs have performed against the Capitals throughout the regular season, it is easy to see that Toronto actually proved themselves to be a evenly matched opponent for the NHL's finest.

2. The Washington Capitals Can Role 4 Lines of Offense, and So Can the Toronto Maple Leafs

If there is anything Maple Leafs 4th line winger Kasperi Kapanen, and Capitals 4th line winger Tom Wilson have taught us, it is that both teams have players on lines 1 through 4 that can come up with a big play when most needed, and this is exactly where the Toronto Maple Leafs have been able to keep this series competitive. With the Toronto Maple Leafs defense facing a pair of crucial injuries (Roman Polak and Nikita Zaitsev), the Leafs need to create as many scoring chances as they can, and although this is extremely straight forward, the Maple Leafs need to keep the puck out of their own zone in order to have success in this series. Yes that is a no brainer, but more than ever in this series it is true. With the defensive core being asked more of as the playoffs role on and injuries rack up, players are asked to play a larger role than what would normally be asked of them. Having the four lines play the way the have so far by scoring 6 goals on one of the best goaltenders in the league, and matching the Capitals shot for shot in the first two games (Only being outshot 94-88 through 1st two games) has been a huge asset for the team.

3. Frederik Andersen Has Been Outer-Worldly

The #1 reason why the Toronto Maple Leafs are coming back to Toronto tied 1-1 with the best team in the NHL, is due to the fact that the best player on the ice for this series, has been the Maple Leafs netminder. Andersen has stopped 88 of the 94 shots directed his way, and has masked a lot of mistakes made by the Leafs in the defensive zone. An example is the save made by Andersen with 1:40 left in the 3rd period when Maple Leaf defenders allowed the most dangerous skater on the ice, Alexander Ovechkin to have a clear shot in the slot. Frederik Andersen was able to make the save and push the game into overtime. Every team in the Eastern Conference playoffs bodes a stellar netminder whether it be Henrik Lundqvist, Carey Price, Tuukka Rask, Craig Anderson, Sergei Bobrovsky, Marc Andre Fleury, or Braden Holtby, and the man that Leafs faithful have embraced as Freddy, has also been stellar in every sense of the word, and the main reason why the Toronto Maple Leafs now have home ice in their playoff series.

*** Next Toronto Maple Leafs Game

vs. Washington Capitals, Monday, April 17t, 2017 (7:00PM)