Yet those teams couldn't even hack it through 48 games. People just love to grasp at straws when it comes to our team.
Well as the saying goes "the cream always rises to the top" and the shorter the season the less time there is for that to occur.
Last year for example at the 48 game mark the LA Kings were not in a playoff spot. They then fired their coach, and squeaked into the playoffs in 8th place earning that spot in the last few games of the season. We all know they went on to win the Stanley Cup. Vice versa our Leafs were in a playoff spot last season at the 48 game mark, and we all know of the 2nd half collapse that resulted in our finish over 82 games.
So the shorter the season the more volatile the results. As we all know the smaller a sample set verses a larger one will have more accurate results the larger it is.
That said all teams entered this shortened season knowing it was only 48 games and the same rules and opportunities applied for all.. Leafs earned their position in the playoffs fair and square on their merits. Other fans that are not so fortunate would be envious of the Leafs, because their team couldn't do what our did.