From Damien Cox’s Spin on Sports:

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Three out of four. Relentlessly. That’s a straightforward formula for making the Stanley Cup playoffs, and it’s one the Maple Leafs have been following for a while now.

Remember the recent home-and-home set with the Bruins? Randy Carlyle’s group picked up three of a possible four points.

How about this week’s bookend with the Rangers? Three out of four points again.

In fact, with just one regulation time loss in their past 12 starts, the Leafs have gained 18 points in the standings over that period of time.

Which averages out to three of a possible four points every two games.

That has the Leafs sitting seventh overall this morning, a stunning rise in the standings after missing the playoffs every year the NHL has managed to hold the playoffs since 2004.

Yup, seventh overall. No, not the seventh overall pick in the upcoming NHL entry draft, which is the type of phrase Leaf fans are more accustomed to ingesting at this time of year, usually accompanied by discussions of whether the team should try to lose more games to improve its draft lottery position.

This is seventh overall in the NHL standings. Leaf Nation should rejoice at seeing that this morning, and should also rejoice with the notion that if the season ended today the Leafs, fifth overall in the Eastern Conference, would play fourth place Montreal in the first round of the playoffs.

How cool would that be?

Forget about whether this would be a preferred matchup, although we’ll get a sense of that when the Canadiens come to town on Saturday night.

But really, who cares about that?

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This is about hockey history. Canada’s two longest-established NHL franchises haven’t met in post-season play in 34 years. The Leafs haven’t won a playoff game against the Habs since George Armstrong pushed one into the empty net to give the Leafs the ‘67 Cup final over the Canadiens in six games.

It’s just been too long. Now, it’s tantalizingly close, although the standings could shift again Thursday night when the Bruins played the Islanders and the Habs battle Buffalo as Montreal and Boston battle for the Northeast Division lead.

Things aren’t perfect for the Leafs, but they’re pretty darn good when you look at where they’ve been, and how GM Brian Burke was dismissed on the eve of the season, and how few picked them to make the playoffs this season, and how many media prognosticators screeched at the end of last season about how the team had no young players of value and would take another five years to be competitive.

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They’ve got a seven point lead on ninth place Winnipeg and a game in hand, and have moved five points clear of sixth place Ottawa, a team that not so long ago held a healthy lead over Toronto in the standings.

Phil Kessel has managed to get hot at the right time. James van Riemsdyk has woken up. Meanwhile, since the Leafs flirted with the idea of trading for either Miikka Kiprusoff or Roberto Luongo at the trade deadline, James Reimer has delivered five of a possible eight points while allowing 10 goals on 120 shots for a .917 save percentage. That’s basically exactly what he was doing before the deadline, and if you look at his last five games that includes that Saturday night shutout in Ottawa, its 10 goals allowed in five starts with a save percentage of .934.

On Wednesday in New York, with Joffrey Lupul still sidelined, Leaf scratches included defenceman Jake Gardiner, forward Matt Frattin, centre Joe Colborne and rearguard Mike Kostka. Ryan Hamilton went in against the Rangers while Colborne went out, and there’s a sense both that this is no longer an easy lineup to make and that kids are knocking on the door competing hard just for a chance to play.

That’s a pretty positive dynamic.

Seven more points, with 16 possible points still on the table, should get the Leafs to the post-season. In other words, they can actually slow down and play less than .500 hockey the rest of the way and still get in.

If that happens, they won’t have to worry about the mean old shootout any more. At least not for this season.