Wednesday, March 5, 2008

I'm sorry, you have the wrong number

Actually, we all do. Or at least most of us, including the media experts, when it comes to the Leafs playoff chances.

How many news reports or blog posts did you see today that mentioned that the Leafs were six points out of a playoff spot?

It's the wrong number.

Six is doable. Six is possible. Six is just a solid winning streak away. Six happens all the time. But six is meaningless.

It's the number "four" that matters. As in, "four teams Toronto needs to pass in the standings"1. To get the eighth and final spot, the Leafs would need to pass the Flyers, Sabres, Islanders and whichever one of the Capitals or Hurricanes doesn't win the division. Not one of those teams, or most of them. Every single one.

And I'm sorry, but you can't pass four teams in 14 games. Not when they're all playing each other, and especially not when some of those games will turn out to be three-pointers. Not without a near-perfect finish, and this team just isn't capable of that. And even 12-2 or 13-1 won't be enough if even one of those teams gets hot at the same time.

It can't be done, folks. It's over. Let it go.

1Technically they need to pass the Panthers too, since they're tied, which would make the number five. But I don't want to depress the nice folks at PPP any more than I already do.




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