The Toronto Maple Leafs (46-26-10) and Boston Bruins (47-20-15) are familiar foes, and yet again, they will meet in the opening round of the NHL playoffs. Puck drops at 8:10 PM EST. All across the NHL there are cup contenders that will lose in the first round, and this series is no different. The story lines are endless, so let’s get right into it.
A Series Of Demons
4-1. 1959. 3-2. These numbers represent demons. Specifically, Toronto’s demons. Up 4-1 against Boston, haven’t beat the Bruins in the playoffs since 1959, being up 3-2 in multiple series against Boston and honestly I could keep going if I was so inclined.
But, in October, it was a new season, a season where they went 0-4 against Boston, and now, it’s a new year, and the Toronto Maple Leafs are primed, now more than ever, to slay these demons and finally get past the Boston Bruins.
Toughness has been a massive Achilles heal for the Toronto Maple Leafs, and they addressed it over the summer and season by adding Reaves, Bertuzzi, Domi and Edmundson. There’s a million questions about the goaltending, but truthfully, goaltending hasn’t been the problem in the past playoff runs. It’s been timely goal scoring, which is crazy to say considering the firepower they have up front, starting with Auston Matthews.
Since we’re talking demons, the Bruins have some demons of their own. After a historic regular season, and being up 3-1 against the Panthers in Round 1, they choked it away and lost 4 straight games to end their season. They are a much thinner team than they were last year after Bergeron and Krejci retired, and Bertuzzi, Foligno and Orlov were three major pieces to leave due to free agency.
I also think that having two number 1 goalies rather than having a clear cut guy is more concerning than Boston would lead on. Ullmark (22-10-7, 2.57 GAA, .915 SV%) and Swayman (25-10-8, 2.53, .916) are both clearly great goalies, but goaltending is one of those things in the playoffs that you want to set and forget, and that situation being unclear is a little concerning.
Boston Bruins vs. Toronto Maple Leafs What To Watch Out For In Game 1
There’s a quick series preview, now lets get to Game 1.
The puck drops in Boston at 8:10 (EST), and personally I think this bodes well for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Toronto is a very intense media market and there is a lot of pressure on this Toronto Maple Leafs team to go far this post-season. Starting on the road is a breath of fresh air and I think it relieves some of that built up pressure.
Boston was 24-11-6 at home this year which is a terrific record, but Toronto was 24-11-6 on the road. In case I’m losing you a bit here, that’s the exact same. I know Toronto has lost all four games against the Bruins this season, but beating anybody 5 times straight is a hard thing to do, especially in the best league in the world.
We all know Auston Matthews (69G, 107PTS) and David Pastrnak (47G, 110PTS) are the primary offensive pieces on these respective teams. But for Boston, I’m looking at the depth to make a big impact in this post-season. Pastrnak has 110 points, after that, the next highest point total is Brad Marchand with 67.
For Boston to do damage tonight and beyond they will need the rest of the team to step up offensively, and the defense is going to have to be airtight.
On the Toronto Maple Leafs side, the big boys have disappeared historically in the playoffs and that has to change. Yes, depth is important, and the Leafs have it, but Nylander, Marner and Tavares have to give Matthews a hand and carry their weight. That hasn’t been a problem for Nylander , but we’ll see what happens.
The biggest question mark for Toronto is from the blue line all the way back to the goaltending. Are they tough enough? With the six D set, and Broadie not in it, how long does that last? Will Samsonov solidify himself or will we see Woll? We’ll see what questions are answered in game 1.
All that being said, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Toronto Maple Leafs chop off a finger of the Boston Demon tonight, but it’s going to take 7 games to slay it entirely.
