The Numbers are Pointing at Something Incredibly Significant for the Toronto Maple Leafs

Heading into the playoffs, the Toronto Maple Leafs had a different level of swagger to them that we hadn't seen in nearly a decade. After so many failed post-season attempts and first-round exits, the Leafs not only advanced to the second round for the second time in 3 years, but are now carrying a 2-0 series lead in Round 2.

After claiming a 4-3 victory on home ice in Game 2 against the Florida Panthers, it was only the 6th time in franchise history that they had recorded back-to-back 2-0 series leads through the first two rounds. The other 5 times they did it were in 1945, 1948, 1949, 1962, and 1963, which coincidentally all led to Stanley Cup championships.

Another good omen heading into Game 3 is that, after taking a 2-0 series lead in a best-of-7 series, the Leafs are 11-0 all-time, which pairs nicely with the fact that the Panthers are 0-5 all-time when falling behind a best-of-7 series by a 2-0 margin.

Outside of a 2-game blip against Ottawa that brought back painful flashbacks to many among Leafs Nation, Toronto has been fantastic to start out the playoffs and they're getting key contributions from all 4 lines and 3 defensive pairings.

Even with Anthony Stolarz out with a suspected concussion, Joseph Woll stepped in for his first start since the end of the regular season and came away with the victory, coming up with some truly impressive stops.

If history has told us anything, the Maple Leafs are in a very solid position with the scene now shifting to Florida for Games 3 and 4. However, the defending Stanley Cup champions won't go down without a fight, and you can bet players like Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Bennett, and Brad Marchand will try to get the home crowd going early on.

Look for Craig Berube to keep his troops level-headed in enemy territory as they look to do the near-impossible and jump ahead to an almost insurmountable 3-0 series lead on Friday night.