Series Talk: ECQ: Boston Bruins (2-0) Toronto Maple Leafs. Well. We can Win at Home. We Have to.

[A1LeafNation]

Dont even try to score when Bergeron's line is on the ice, just bang them for 7 games.

Polak has only played the Bruins once this year.

 

[Jozay]

Leo better be hitting every guy with yellow on their sweater. Lord knows thats about the only thing he can do at this point.

 

[Mikeyg]

I think the rest of the nhl world is sleeping on us..... were going to hit Boston like a mack truck.

 

[FlareKnight]

That is nice and definitely a confidence booster going into the series but it doesn’t mean much once the playoffs start.

Neither does a lot of things that will still be talking points going into the series. And yet until the playoffs start there is nothing else to discuss.

 

[Pi]

Neither does a lot of things that will still be talking points going into the series. And yet until the playoffs start there is nothing else to discuss.

True. Boston hasn’t won in Toronto for a while but the media will be too focused on our Game 7 loss with a roster that has changed so much.

We’ve won 7/8 against the Bruins with Marner, Nylander, and Matthews playing big games.

If the Leafs can play with the speed we’ve seen them play, we will be fine.

 

[Drytoast]

Leo better be hitting every guy with yellow on their sweater. Lord knows thats about the only thing he can do at this point.

That and kill penalties

 

[A1LeafNation]

Leafs haven't won a game 1 since 2003. Its been 5 playoffs series. We're due.

 

[Pi]

Leo better be hitting every guy with yellow on their sweater. Lord knows thats about the only thing he can do at this point.

Yeah otherwise Johnsson better be in for Game 2. If he cannot goad the Bruins into taking stupid penalties, and being physical, why is he even out there?

 

[Pi]

Last Bruins win in Toronto: March 26th, 2016. We swept them last year, and won 3-1 this year.

 

[Jimmy Firecracker]

Plekanec better prove he was worth what he cost in this series. He's historically had success when he's matched up against Bergeron I believe was what the pundits were saying when we got him. Hopefully he can replicate it.

 

[MJ65]

This is going to be good series, it's going to be a battle (watch out), looking forward

Flyers / Penguins is going to be another war - tough match up for Pittsburgh as it's a big rivalry

 

[MR4]

Not scared of Boston at all, the remainders of 2013 Rielly/Kadri/Gardiner/JVR/Bozak should be fired tf up for payback while the younger core will be either way, and we can probably shut down the BOS top line enough to let line 2 eat up BOS line 2, line 3 eat up BOS line 3, and line 4 eat up their 4th line. And IMO their D is trash after the top pair with Carlo out so not worried about us getting shut down either

Leo better be hitting every guy with yellow on their sweater. Lord knows thats about the only thing he can do at this point.

Leo better get benched after the first game so we can play Johnsson and win the goal count between the 4th lines instead of the hit count

 

[MattySnipes]

SN doing cool feature on leafs season. Tune in now

 

[Pi]

Plekanec better prove he was worth what he cost in this series. He's historically had success when he's matched up against Bergeron I believe was what the pundits were saying when we got him. Hopefully he can replicate it.

Plekanec has been a victim of defensive zone starts. He only has 23% offensive zone starts so he hasn’t really contributed offensively but his 4th line has been a possession beast and they can handle tough minutes.

Kapanen always scores clutch goals and he will feast on Boston’s slow pairings from the 4th line.

 

[BlueBaron]

Dont even try to score when Bergeron's line is on the ice, just bang them for 7 games.

Polak has only played the Bruins once this year.

You realise it will be Matthews dealing with him most of the time right? I have a better idea, how about winning the match up?

 

[DavePoulin4PM]

One team is built for playoff hockey and the other isn't. These aren't Dave Nonis' Leafs. This soft group are about to get bullied by Marchand and Co. Regular season results mean nothing.. this is a nightmare matchup for the Leafs.

Expect the Bruins to take liberties with this soft team, early and often. The Leafs have no answer for the Bruins heavy, physical style. Boston has several players who know the price you have to pay, in order to win in the playoffs. The Leafs really don't. The Leafs don't have the fortitude to be able to compete in this series.

 

[Dragao6]

I definetly wanted Boston, dont care what others say....tampa have way more skill and if they get going its scary like us. Hate bruins and their over confident fans.
This is where Babcock earns his money, were still rebuilding but good enough to win. We havent played great vs boston but have a winning record so tjat says allot and even thpugh the 1st half of the season we didnt play great once babcock finally changed the lones we then started looking like the top 10 team we are.
34 and 29 will figure them out and own them, kadri and plekanec will take care of that top line and freddy will continue to be dominant.

GO LEAFS GO
finally meaningful games

 

[Dragao6]

One team is built for playoff hockey and the other isn't. These aren't Dave Nonis' Leafs. This soft group are about to get bullied by Marchand and Co. Regular season results mean nothing.. this is a nightmare matchup for the Leafs.

Expect the Bruins to take liberties with this soft team, early and often. The Leafs have no answer for the Bruins heavy, physical style. Boston has several players who know the price you have to pay, in order to win in the playoffs. The Leafs really don't. The Leafs don't have the fortitude to be able to compete in this series.

The bruins players didnt have players that knew price to pay to win in playoffs untill they won in the playoffs. We have more skill they can also learn as they learnt in kunior big games.

Lets see the big bad bruins catch our "little guys"

 

[A1LeafNation]

One team is built for playoff hockey and the other isn't. These aren't Dave Nonis' Leafs. This soft group are about to get bullied by Marchand and Co. Regular season results mean nothing.. this is a nightmare matchup for the Leafs.

Expect the Bruins to take liberties with this soft team, early and often. The Leafs have no answer for the Bruins heavy, physical style. Boston has several players who know the price you have to pay, in order to win in the playoffs. The Leafs really don't. The Leafs don't have the fortitude to be able to compete in this series.

No wonder you aren't in the NHL anymore. You cant hit what you can't catch.

Dave Nonis is a terrible GM, Burke was a terrible GM, You were a terrible hockey man. There is a reason why no one trusts all of you to run a team anymore and puts the former two in advisor roles, not decision making roles.

 

[Peiskos]

This isn't 2013 where Tyler Bozak is our #1 centre and where we were lucky to win every game we did against them. We have a very real chance of winning this series.

 

[A1LeafNation]

You realise it will be Matthews dealing with him most of the time right? I have a better idea, how about winning the match up?

Toronto won't try to push a Matthews/Bergeron match-up will they? I think Boston would want to but I doubt Toronto does.

 

[Le Cobra]

That was a great write up Daisy! You should be writing Leafs articles!

 

[DavePoulin4PM]

The fact of the matter is that the Leafs were much better equipped to beat the Bruins in 2013 than they are now. People will laugh but Leafs don't have guys like Dion and Orr (who played every game in that series). Leafs have no one to keep them honest, and Boston will run wild and will be open season on Freddie/ Marner.

Many want to act like the regular season is like playoffs, but it's not even close to the same game . Yes, regular season is more based on skill, but playoff hockey still remains a mans game, a game of a attrition, and intense MENTAL BATTLE. Leafs don't have the parts to win this series. Fans and (more importantly) management are about to realize this.

Leafs are on the right track, but this series is going to be a major reality check for this regime. Need to add more grit, and improve the back end.

 

[Mikeyg]

The fact of the matter is that the Leafs were much better equipped to beat the Bruins in 2013 than they are now. People will laugh but Leafs don't have guys like Dion and Orr (who played every game in that series). Leafs have no one to keep them honest, and Boston will run wild and will be open season on Freddie/ Marner.

Many want to act like the regular season is like playoffs, but it's not even close to the same game . Yes, regular season is more based on skill, but playoff hockey still remains a mans game, a game of a attrition, and intense MENTAL BATTLE. Leafs don't have the parts to win this series. Fans and (more importantly) management are about to realize this.

Leafs are on the right track, but this series is going to be a major reality check for this regime. Need to add more grit, and improve the back end.

Theres a reason why you’re a colour guy now and not a manager dave..... speed and skill kills grit, this isnt the burke regime.

 

[Apotheosis]

I posted this a couple of times but never fully elaborated. In a way, both these teams are subtle anti-thesis' of each other. While possessing some similar attributes, they thrive on different things while being able to tap in to a lesser version of what the other team is better at.

Boston plays a heavier game than the Leafs. Their entire top line is filled with guys who can cycle with anyone in the league and the rest of their line up can do that too, just not as good as Marchand - Bergeron - Pastrnak. They have good speed all around and are one of the faster teams in the league, blending a heavyish game with good team mobility. They aren't the most mobile on the back end sans Krug and maybe McAvoy, which is probably the main exploit that the Leafs should try to take advantage of.

Toronto is a wave after wave speed team. Top to bottom you have Matthews, Nylander, Marner, Kapanen, Johnsson etc. Who are all fast skaters and absolutely burn it with the slightest bit of open ice. The first line in particular is quite good at cycling, just not as good as the Boston first line at that, but they're faster overall, channelling the main difference between the way the two teams play. On the flip side, Toronto's D is far more mobile, but is easier to suffocate with heavy play that Boston thrives on. This is what the Bruins should try to take advantage of.

Essentially, the series will be decided based upon if Boston can neuter the Leafs speed game more than the Leafs can neuter the Bruins ability to start a heavy cycle, the two main weaknesses of the two teams. I would surmise to say the goalies are quite even, posting very similar numbers. In a match up to match up case, Andersen wins out slightly since he wins so much against the Bruins, which could be an X Factor. That among many like -> Matthews vs Bergeron; Who goes on a scoring outburst first? I like the Leafs depth of elite talent spread out in this case, as the Leafs Kadri-Marner line is my personal X Factor for the series, where even if the top lines neuter each other, Marner could feast and find this series wide open. I really like this match up for it's storyline and the fact that Atlantic is from an only top teams perspective; the strongest division in the league.