Tonight's loss to Atlanta officially relegated Toronto to the status of playoff non-participant. They are 11 points behind the last spot with only 5 games remaining. Though I considered them to be eliminated weeks ago. You see you need about 92 points to qualify for the playoffs in the East. It was about 3 weeks ago when the Leafs became incapable at making the playoffs by virtue of the fact that they did not have enough games remaining to hit 92 points. During that time the Leafs have remained within striking distance of 8th spot but with no hope of ever reaching it. They might be able to catch one or two teams but without ability to earn 92 points, they would never pass enough teams to finish in a playoff position.
This past month the Maple Leaf have continued their tradition of playing well down the stretch when the game no longer matter.The phenomena always gives the impression that the Leafs will be good enough to compete for a playoff spot during the subsequent season. It never happens.
Are the Maple Leafs playing well because they have come together as a team or because players are competing for jobs next season? There are significant differences. When you are competing for a spot on the roster your focus is on your own performance. The team's success becomes secondary to your own situation. There is no pressure to win any longer. It's about looking good. In these situations sometime the team actually win some games. But once the focus is back on winning the players don't seem to be able to switch to a team oriented style of play.
I certainly will be interest in seeing how this plays out next season but I'm not convinced this team has turned the corner. I've been fooled too many times.
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