I appreciate Jean-Sebastien Aubin's spirit, but I fear math is not his strong suit. Earlier today, our goaltender proclaimed to the press, "We're not done yet". He believes the Leafs can still make the playoffs.
The Leafs have nine games remaining, five at home and four on the road. The team currently holding down the final playoff spot is Tampa Bay who are seven points ahead of us. Of course, we're not the ninth place team, we're the eleventh place team, which means Atlanta and Florida sit between us and the Lightning.
For arguments sake, let's say we win seven of our final nine games. As ludicrous as that sounds, let's pretend for a moment. In this instance, we finish the season with a respectable 90 points. If Tampa Bay finishes off the season playing .500 hockey, which is below their winning percentage thus far this year, they finish with 91 points. Bear in mind, that's with the Leafs taking fourteen of a possible eighteen points.
Should Tampa Bay really go in the dumps and go 3-5 in their last eight games, they'll finish with 89 points and our fantasy 90 points would put us in, right? Well, sorta. We have to hope Atlanta slows down and doesn't earn more than twelve of their possible eighteen points.
I began this entry to point out how foolish Aubin's comments are, but I've gone and convinced myself we can do this. To be safe, we're going to have to win all nine of our remaining nine games to finish with 94 points. I believe 94 points will earn us a place in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Go Leafs Go!
