Report Confirms Leafs Leading Stanley Cup Playoffs in Key Statistic They Lacked During the Season

The Maple Leafs fell short of expectations on Saturday night, failing to close out their series and to complete the sweep against the Ottawa Senators in Game 4.

The series now shifts back to Toronto for Game 5 at Scotiabank Arena, which will take place on Tuesday evening, and there's one area of the Leafs' game that could very well be the difference in the series.

During the season, the Leafs had struggled mightily with their production on the blueline, finishing the year with just 21 goals from defensemen. That was the worst total among all NHL teams.

However, during the early stages of their postseason run, the Leafs have flipped the script and are suddenly the most potent team in the NHL from the blueline, having produced an NHL-leading 5 goals from the back end through their first 4 games.

The emergence of Oliver Ekman-Larsson as a real shooting threat from the blueline is a huge reason why the Leafs are now leading the NHL in this category. OEL has already tallied 2 big goals through the team's first 4 games, and has also been strong defensively, earning every penny of the 1st year of his new contract. Not bad for a guy who was injured earlier this month and was not even a lock to be ready to go for the start of the playoffs.

Simon Benoit is also emerging as a player who is not afraid to shoot the puck, as evidenced by his sensational Game 3 OT winner.

Despite an up-and-down season, Morgan Rielly has also begun to return to form, as he often does when the playoffs begin. The longest-tenured Leaf has scored twice for the Leafs in this series, accounting for the other 2 goals coming from the blueline.

If the Leafs can continue to receive these types of contributions from the blueline throughout these playoffs, it's a reasonable suggestion that the Leafs will go far -- especially if the Core 4 continue to produce at a high rate as well.