3 reasons why the Maple Leafs can still beat the Bruins in their 2024 NHL Playoff series

By Ryan Gagne

Modified Apr 28, 2024 19:17 GMT

On Saturday night, the Toronto Maple Leafs lost Game 4 3-1 to the Boston Bruins, falling behind 3-1 in their series, with Game 5 scheduled for Tuesday.

Although they are down, Toronto is not out yet and can still salvage this first-round playoff series. As daunting as that task sounds, it's not over until it's over and the club needs to take it one game at a time.

3 reasons why the Maple Leafs can still beat the Bruins in their 2024 NHL Playoff series

#3. Toronto has the second-best offense in the NHL

After the regular season, only the Colorado Avalanche scored more goals than Toronto, 304 to 303. Colorado has Nathan MacKinnon (140 points) and Mikko Rantanen (104 points).

Toronto, meanwhile, has Auston Matthews (69 goals) and William Nylander (40 goals), who man the NHL's seventh-best powerplay at 24.0%.

The Maple Leafs know how to score and win hockey games, finishing with the league's 10th-best record.

Of course, there are questions up and down the lineup, including between the pipes, but Toronto is different from the Washington Capitals, who crawled into the playoffs with just 220 goals scored, the worst total of any postseason team.

If Toronto can kick out the ghosts of playoffs past and get Jeremy Swayman out of their heads, this offensively gifted team can overcome any series deficit and get wins.

#2. Eventually, the tide will turn in Toronto's favor

There is no need to kick the Maple Leafs while they are down since everyone and their grandparents know the Toronto franchise's postseason history.

The Maple Leafs last won the Stanley Cup in 1967 and last beat the Bruins in the playoffs in 1959.

They have also had one win (regular season and playoff) against their Original Six rivals since November 2022.

In Major League Baseball, the Boston Red Sox went 86 years without a World Series title, often losing their chance to their rivals, the New York Yankees.

Eventually, the Red Sox won their championship, becoming the first MLB team to overcome a 3-0 series deficit in professional baseball, defeating the Yankees in a dramatic series en route to a World Series title.

One day, the Maple Leafs will overcome all their postseason failures, and even though the NHL is not a movie, it will only be fitting when they defeat the Bruins en route to a Stanley Cup title.

It could happen in 2024, 2030 or thirty years from now. However, every fan knows that their time will come and that history will favor them.

#1. History is with the Maple Leafs

Fans who watched the 2018 playoff series between the Maple Leafs and Bruins may be experiencing deja vu.

Boston won Games 1, 3 and 4 four seasons ago and dropped Game 2. If this sounds familiar, the same thing is happening in 2024.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Although the series' cast has changed, many players, including Matthews, Nylander, Mitch Marner, Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak and Jake DeBrusk, were present in 2018 and are still present in 2024.

Last season, the Bruins followed the same script. With the best record assembled in NHL history, they won Games 1, 3 and 4 against the upstart Florida Panthers before blowing it in Game 7.

Considering Boston remains in the same position every season, there is hope for another postseason collapse, like in 2023.

Even though only four teams have ever rallied back from a 3-0 series deficit in Stanley Cup playoff history, Toronto never fell behind 3-0 and is much better positioned to win the series. They trail only 3-1 heading into Game 5 on Tuesday.