Phil Kessel Maple Leafs

It’s been quite a dry spell for the Toronto Maple Leafs. The franchise last won the Stanley Cup in 1967 and in the intervening years they’ve never made it back to the Finals, and only four times have even reached the conference finals. An even bigger mark of ineptitude is the seven straight years they’ve missed the playoffs—let’s call it the Curse of Gary Bettman, since that covers the entire period since the 2005 season was cancelled. Today though, Toronto is hanging in the NHL Eastern Conference playoff race, in the #7 position. TheSportsNotebook’s NHL analysis today will focus on whether the Leafs are finally for real as a playoff team.