It became almost a season-long focus last year, as the Leafs couldn?t seem to pull out of a tailspin that ultimately claimed their season, this idea of getting back to what they had been in 2012-13.
Because the Leafs made the playoffs for the first time in nine years and because they gave the Boston Bruins a run for their money in the first round, sparking a party around the city often chided for ?planning the parade,? that team has taken on sort of mythic status for some of those who work for, support or cover the team.
What is rarely mentioned is that that group became progressively worse as that lockout-shortened half season went along, getting outplayed and hemmed in its own zone more and more as the months wore on and the system issues sunk in.
The 2012-13 Leafs outshot their opponents 29.9 to 28.6 in January but were outshot by six per game in February, five per game in March and a ridiculous 10.5 per game in April prior to that fateful series with the Bruins.
They had several great games against Boston; they had a lot of lousy ones against everyone else.
It?s forgotten now, but they very nearly frittered away that playoff berth, too. If not for James Reimer?s .930 save percentage and Phil Kessel?s 18 points in 12 games, the Leafs? April of 2013 would have been remembered for yet another ugly collapse instead of the month where they finally clinched a long-awaited playoff spot.
(And that doesn?t even get into that team?s extremely high shooting percentage, which was doomed to regress had the season been longer than 48 games.)
