What the Maple Leafs Need To Do To Clinch Atlantic Division Title Against Buffalo

The dates for the Toronto Maple Leafs first two games of 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs have been revealed, and the team has the ability to clinch first overall in the Atlantic Division tonight.

The Maple Leafs have been red hot lately, winning their last three games, and getting points in nine of their last 10, which bodes well going into the game against the basement-dwelling Buffalo Sabres.

If the Maple Leafs can manage to get just one point against the Sabres, they will have won the Atlantic Division title for the first time in the team's history. Toronto can also clinch first if the Tampa Bay Lightning lose in any fashion to the Florida Panthers tonight.

The Maple Leafs will need to avoid a potentially catastrophic decision ahead of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs by inserting Max Pacioretty, who been out with an injury for two months, into the lineup. The hosts of the Real Kyper and Bourne podcast insist it would make no sense at all.

But first, the task at hand, which is clinching the Division title. Should the Maple Leafs lose their final two games of the season, they can still finish first in the Atlantic Division if the Bolts win both of their final two games in overtime. This is due to the "Regulation Wins" rule which states a tiebreaker would come down to which team has the most wins on the season in regulation time, rather than OT or a shootout.