NHL Playoffs 2021: 3 reasons Maple Leafs will win the Stanley Cup

2. An elite offense

The scary thing about the Toronto Maple Leafs is their offense attacks in waves. Most notably, their top two lines are outstanding. Their top line is led by Rocket Richard favorite Auston Matthews, who enters May 3 averaging 0.81 goals per game. Mario Lemieux is the last player to play at least 40 games and top that mark. It’s also worth noting Alex Ovechkin had 0.79 goals per game in 2007-08 while playing all 82 games.

Flanking Matthews is Mitch Marner, who is third in the NHL in points with 64. Matthews and Marner rank second and third in the NHL respectively in even strength points. Marner’s creativity and playmaking perfectly complement Matthews’ outstanding shot. Trade deadline acquisition Nick Foligno has fit in very nicely next to them.

Their second line is led by John Tavares and William Nylander. Tavares quietly has 46 points in 51 games. It’s easy to overlook him when Matthews is dominating everyone he faces, but teams who forgot about Tavares and the second line will pay. Meanwhle, Nylander has 38 points in 46 games. Alex Galchenyuk has been a revelation for the Leafs, picking up nine points in 21 games.

With Alex Kerfoot, Zach Hyman (once he returns from injury), Ilya Mikheyev, Jason Spezza, and Wayne Simmonds leading their bottom six forward group, scoring shouldn’t be an issue for the Toronto Maple Leafs in the postseason.