Two Underrated Maple Leafs Forwards Forcing Their Way Into the Playoff Lineup

Although the Stanley Cup Playoffs are a dangerous beast in and of itself, the Toronto Maple Leafs are ready to face whatever is thrown at them in their quest to reign as NHL Champions, and things don't start easy with the Battle of Ontario in the first round.

The team has looked fantastic over the last month, and the lineup has not only started to really come together, but they're all making big claims to keep their spot on the playoff roster.

Ryan Reaves was called up, Max Pacioretty is expected to return, and the Leafs still have three injured players to fit in when they return

But two players who should force themselves into the lineup are Pontus Holmberg and Nick Robertson.

While Robertson's been a spark plug recently, Holmberg is a genuine surprise lately, and has sneakily provided a lot of good chances for the team to score.

Over the last ten games, both Robertson and Holmberg have had fantastic numbers that prove they should be in the lineup regardless, especially with a team needing secondary scoring.

You can also look at a few names on the list like Calle Jarnkrok and Max Domi and wonder where they might fit in the lineup given how imperative it is to score in the playoffs and they are ranking at the bottom of the team; if they can't get any offense going it's going to hurt the Maple Leafs in the long run.

If Craig Berube was worried about his lineup, then he should probably just keep sticking with what's worked.

The team won 13 of their last 16 games, had three shutouts over the last week and a half, and looked every bit as dangerous as any other contender this postseason.

Though the main thing they need to do is just get healthy. David Kampf still needs to fit in that bottom six, and Jake McCabe and Oliver Ekman-Larsson are definitely not going to be sitting on the sidelines, so once those players come back, it makes the lineup construction a little clearer, though not any easier.

So while it's still going to be a bit of a shuffling game for Craig Berube heading into Game One of the playoffs, we'll have a much better idea on Saturday, and certainly know when they take the ice Sunday.