The Toronto Maple Leafs have started the season as many non Maple Leaf fans would have hoped for losing their first three games with the possibility of making it four when the defending Stanley Cup Champions come to town on Saturday. The Maple Leafs have scored eight goals in these three games but is their any forward on the Leafs that scares any opposing team that faces them? Maple Leaf fans might say that Phil Kessel brings this fear but he wont be around until mid November at the earliest and the Leafs would be about a quarter of a way through the season. The Maple Leafs need to find a player or even a line that can be consistent just about each and every night, sure the defense has played lousy and the goaltending could be better but this team will need to score and perform better on home ice if they want to have any chance of making the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since the lockout. The Maple Leafs do not have a player on their current roster who has ever hit 70 points in a season and this includes Kessel, Jason Blake has had the highest point total of 69 the year he scored 40 just before joining Toronto. The Leafs will be hard pressed to make the post season without at least someone hitting this plateau. Looking back over the last two post seasons out of 32 playoff teams only 3 did not have a player that hit the 70 point mark during the season and not surprisingly all three clubs went out in the first round of action. The Maple Leafs need to find someone or line that will strike fear into opposing teams because if they dont then this could turn out to be another futile season for the Buds, we are three games in and Leafs Nation is already feeling the heat of another springtime on the sidelines and with a few more lackluster performances by the Buds as the had against Ottawa this past Tuesday and its only a matter of time before Ron Wilson's and Brian Burke's temperatures start to rise.
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