So it’s for us to suggest the Maple Leafs ask the hockey gods what they possibly have against them in health and welfare. Toronto started this series without 98-point winger William Nylander and Bobby McMann, the latter a third-line winger who’d have been ideal against Boston, with a lower-body injury.

Nylander finally came back from an undisclosed injury — one report that has yet to be refuted says it was due to migraines — in the same Game 4 that 69-goal scorer Auston Matthews was labouring before being pulled by doctors after 40 minutes from his own mystery ailment.

Last year, it was starting goaltender Ilya Samsonov hurt in the series against Florida (though Toronto was already falling) and two years before, trade acquisition Nick Foligno went down after four games against Montreal, the series in which captain John Tavares played just a few minutes before getting stretchered off the ice.

On Monday, Tavares cut off a question about dealing with that bad luck before it could be completed.

“We’re focused on tomorrow (Game 5 in Boston), that’s where our minds are at,” he said. “We just have to come out and do our best.”

This is not to suggest the other teams have escaped the injury bug. Vancouver has lost two goaltenders in net as it attempts to finish off Nashville this week. Tampa bay defenceman Mikhail Sergachev astounded the hockey world by playing last week two and half months after breaking his left tibia and fibula. Many speculate Matthews is suffering from something far more serious than an upset stomach.

The Leafs have at least changed the narrative of personnel matters they can control. There are no suspensions so far, after losing Nazem Kadri in consecutive series against Boston and Michael Bunting last year against Tampa Bay.

KHL CUP CHAMP JOINS LEAFS

No matter what happens the rest of the playoffs, the Leafs now have a Cup champion on their roster.

Nikita Grebenkin’s departure from Gagarin Cup-winning Metallurg Magnitogorsk last week led him to sign a three-year entry level deal with Toronto on Monday. Thus, a year was immediately burned on the deal, which carries an AAV of $875,000 US.