67Leafs67
Registered User
- Nov 8, 2014
- 774
- 631
This Columbus team battled through a lot of adversity to get to where they are. Not only did they lose a bunch of key players in free agency, but they lost the most man-games to injuries of any team in the NHL this season (including some really key players), and still managed to hold on to the playoff race in spite of this.
The book on them is pretty clear. One of the top defensive teams in the league, but they struggle to produce offense. This is clear in their special teams as well...great PK, not so great on the PP. They play a 'high-event' game in terms of penalties, taking & drawing a lot, which is the opposite of Toronto's game.
The one thing that I like in Toronto's favour could potentially be the goaltending matchup, but goaltending is such a wildcard, especially after a 3+ month break. A big reason that Columbus stayed afloat so long was because out of nowhere, Korpisalo & Merzilkins was perhaps the best goalie duo in the league, and then come February, they started to fall back down to earth. In contrast, Andersen has historically been a solid goalie, but was among the league's worst, until he seemed to finally be regaining his game over the last couple weeks. Who knows who will show up in net in a short, five game series, but if Andersen regains his usual form, and the Columbus doesn't get miracle goaltending, I like Toronto's chances a lot.
The big question for me isn't physicality...it is whether or not Toronto can play solid enough defense and manage the puck well. Realistically, keeping Columbus from scoring shouldn't be an issue. However, if Toronto starts getting frustrated by Columbus' solid defense, and taking too many risks or losing their composure with the puck, the Jackets have enough skill to with the likes of Atkinson, Nyquist, Dubois, & Bjorkstrand to make us pay.
The book on them is pretty clear. One of the top defensive teams in the league, but they struggle to produce offense. This is clear in their special teams as well...great PK, not so great on the PP. They play a 'high-event' game in terms of penalties, taking & drawing a lot, which is the opposite of Toronto's game.
The one thing that I like in Toronto's favour could potentially be the goaltending matchup, but goaltending is such a wildcard, especially after a 3+ month break. A big reason that Columbus stayed afloat so long was because out of nowhere, Korpisalo & Merzilkins was perhaps the best goalie duo in the league, and then come February, they started to fall back down to earth. In contrast, Andersen has historically been a solid goalie, but was among the league's worst, until he seemed to finally be regaining his game over the last couple weeks. Who knows who will show up in net in a short, five game series, but if Andersen regains his usual form, and the Columbus doesn't get miracle goaltending, I like Toronto's chances a lot.
The big question for me isn't physicality...it is whether or not Toronto can play solid enough defense and manage the puck well. Realistically, keeping Columbus from scoring shouldn't be an issue. However, if Toronto starts getting frustrated by Columbus' solid defense, and taking too many risks or losing their composure with the puck, the Jackets have enough skill to with the likes of Atkinson, Nyquist, Dubois, & Bjorkstrand to make us pay.