Six in five is Mike Babcock’s points target for the Maple Leafs from last year, and he doesn’t seem to have upped the quota for this year.  We tracked the team’s progress last year as they just barely made it in the end.  This year, they’ve got off to a stronger start.

First the standard five game chunks, with only one in the books so far:

That’s exciting isn’t it? One lonely bar sitting there.  But it’s two points over six, so it’s good.

Now for the slightly more meaningful way to measure points pace: the rolling five-game line chart.  I’m comparing this year to last year.

Note that last year it took until game 14 for the Leafs to hit eight points in the previous five games.  If you want a reminder of how much last year was an improvement over the year before here’s that comparison:

Last year’s lesson was that small improvement accumulates and that you need to watch out for that third quarter slump.  This year, we hope to see more small improvement, and a continuation of the lack of really bad down periods.

Analysis