The Leafs were well on their way to a playoff spot last season until team leader Joffrey Lupul, who was then having a fantastic season, went down to a season-ending injury.
The Leafs were also the youngest team in the league last season, which might explain why they possibly panicked following Lupul's injury & the resulting slump. Until last season, the Leafs always started slowly & finished extremely strong.
This season, the Leafs are a year older & better coached, which has been a big reason for the team's consistency. They're among the league leaders in penalty-killing, and they now have a new goaltending coach who's been the perfect tonic to work with the current goaltending duo.
The Leafs likely would not be in their current position if Ron Wilson & Francois Allaire were still with the team. The two guys who replaced them, Randle Carlyle & Richard St-Croix, deserve a lot of credit for turning the Leafs into a Stanley Cup contender. For those who do not believe this, just take a look at last season's Los Angeles Kings, who struggled all season long, squeaked into the playoffs in their last regular season game, and suddenly got hot during their playoff run. The same could happen to ANY team finishing in the top 8 in their respective conference. That's what playoff hockey is all about!