They did it.

The Toronto Maple Leafs didn't make it easy on themselves or their fans during the final week of the season, but with a heroic comeback win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night they finally punched their ticket to the playoffs.

The achievement in itself - regardless of how the team actually performs in the postseason - is nothing short of remarkable given the expectations of the season and considering the club finished with the league's worst record just one year ago.

As has been well documented over the past couple weeks thanks to the plethora of rookie records broken, the majority of the team's success can be attributed to the outstanding contributions of the trio of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander.

However, these three fine gentlemen are far from the only reason why the Maple Leafs sit where they are. The season has been a success to date, though the Auston Matthews' of the world will say they still have unfinished business to take care of.

That being said, here are three unheralded reasons why the Maple Leafs are heading back to the playoffs for the first time since the 2012-13 campaign:

The other rookies

It's been a great year for the trio of rookies mentioned above, but they aren't the only ones who deserve some praise. Let's start with the guy who scored Saturday's game-winner.

In almost any other season, Connor Brown would be getting a ton of credit for his play, but he's been overshadowed due to his rookie counterparts.

He's contributed 20 goals and 36 points while becoming one of the Maple Leafs' most reliable defensive forwards, playing the third-most shorthanded minutes among the team's forwards.

The other rookie who has been a pleasant surprise is defenseman Nikita Zaitsev.

Coming over from Russia, the 25-year-old has quickly become one of the club's go-to blue-liners, quarterbacking the power play while also playing top minutes again the opposition's best players.

His play has not gone unnoticed by the Maple Leafs brass, as his team-leading 36 points among defenders is just one of the many reasons the club is reportedly close to signing him to a seven-year extension.

'Steady' Freddy Andersen

That five-year contract doesn't look so bad anymore, does it?

Many were skeptical this offseason after the Maple Leafs acquired Frederik Andersen and immediately signed him to a five-year contract extension before he played a single game for the club - and who could blame them.

We've seen this move before from the Maple Leafs, throw a presumed strong backup goalie into a starting role only to watch him struggle behind a porous defense.

However, Andersen has been different - and thankfully so. He's been solid, turning in 33 wins, the most by a Maple Leafs goalie in a season since Andrew Raycroft (yes, Andrew Raycroft) tied a franchise record with 37 wins during the 2006-07 campaign.

He's been arguably the team's most valuable player and, with the playoffs about to kick off, he's sure to be relied on heavily.

Stellar special teams

It's pretty safe to say that had the Maple Leafs' special teams not been as dependable as they were this season, the team would not be celebrating a playoff berth.

With one day remaining on the schedule, the Maple Leafs boast the second-best power play in the league and the ninth-ranked penalty kill.

Their 58 power play goals this season are the third-most in the league and make up nearly 23 percent of the team's total offense.

These rankings also point to a huge improvement, as the club was 29th with the extra man last season and 13th in terms of penalty killing.

Of course, Babcock has credited having a more talented squad at his disposal for the improvement on the power play, but, nevertheless, the Maple Leafs' special teams have been crucial this year and will need to continue to be heading into next week.

(Photos courtesy: Action Images)

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.