ECQF Boston Bruins vs Toronto Maple Leafs (Leafs lead 3-2)

[SpectralThundr]

Jesus, give the ref harping a rest. That should have been a 4 min power play for a high stick. They gave you a 2 min penalty for a rough instead.

Much of your fan base and media was calling for tighter called games after game 2. What do you want?

Tighter calls on Boston they meant, while they slew foot guys all night long.

 

[crump]

I hope matthews grows some balls and drops hit gloves with charlie tuna but we all know he is made of glass

No..just smart enough to know taking himself out for 5 min would not be worth the trade off. Besides keeping McCoy on the ice will eventually lead to him demolishing Rask by crosschecking Matthews into him.

 

[whatsbruin]

Winner of this series will win the Cup.
With Tampa and Pittsburgh already gone and Oshie now out for Washington, this might be the easiest path to a Cup either team could have dreamed.

And yet CBJ and Islanders man handled their opponents. That should make it a easy path to the cup.
Unless CBJ and Islanders pull a Tampa Bay, getting to the cup will be hard no matter who is in the path.

 

[islesfan186]

Winner of this series will win the Cup.
With Tampa and Pittsburgh already gone and Oshie now out for Washington, this might be the easiest path to a Cup either team could have dreamed.

I'm not sure about that. The Caps still have Ovechkin, Backstrom, Kuznetsov, and Carlson. Losing Oshie hurts, but there is still loads of talent on that roster.
Not to mention CBJ just wiped the floor with the best team in the league. They are hardly going to be pushovers

 

[Harry Kakalovich]

Big game tonight

 

[Pookie]

Tighter calls on Boston they meant, while they slew foot guys all night long.

Bingo.

Though the term slew foot didn't test well in our market. We prefer to say we gave a little "Base Peck"

 

[Pookie]

But that player has a solid, proven record.

Nylander ? Not so much.

He sleepwalked through the entire playoffs last season.

Nylander has 10 points in 17 games vs the B's in the playoffs. Matthews has 11.

Some Leaf fans have unrealistic expectations for Nylander.

 

[PatriceBergeronFan]

I'm not the one complaining about the refs saying they should have given Matthews 4:00 minutes instead of 2:00 minutes. It's the Bruins fans on here who are doing that. All I'm doing is pointing out how Boston still scored on that power play and ended up winning the game last night. They should be happy and the are acting like they lost because of it.

Is anyone even saying that? You filled the GDT with more complaining than I ever could muster.

 

[Gallagbi]

Bingo.

Though the term slew foot didn't test well in our market. We prefer to say we gave a little "Base Peck"

Didn't see the Muzzin one, so not sure how terrible it was, but Marchand has had 5-6 slew foots in the series. He goes in to most scrums dragging his left leg and swinging his stick to the backhand. He's hit Hyman, Marner and Rielly a few times with them. Seems like this is pretty loose on both sides, much like the interference.

 

[stewpac]

This series is an absolute battle, I can’t believe how much people want to discuss refs over the teams. This was always going to go 7, teams are as evenly match as two teams can get. I’m going to game 6 for my first ever playoff game and I couldn’t be more jacked. Go Leafs go!!!

 

[Pookie]

Didn't see the Muzzin one, so not sure how terrible it was, but Marchand has had 5-6 slew foots in the series. He goes in to most scrums dragging his left leg and swinging his stick to the backhand. He's hit Hyman, Marner and Rielly a few times with them. Seems like this is pretty loose on both sides, much like the interference.

All sides do it.... he thinks we are excessively nasty.... just play along.

 

[Linnie The Pooh]

This game is huge tonight for both clubs. For Boston I think it is more important than Toronto although neither team wants to fall 2 games to 3 down in the series. Boston is on home ice and they also want to keep the momentum going with the last win. Also if Toronto wins Boston could be in trouble heading back to Toronto for game 6 in an elimination game on Sunday. That being said, I am going against my logic here and going to say that the Leafs bounce back and win this game 4-2 tonight and head back home with a 3 games to 2 lead in the series.

 

[danpantz]

All sides do it.... he thinks we are excessively nasty.... just play along.

No need to play along. Only one team has had a player suspended both years.

 

[Sensin5]

Winner of this series will win the Cup.
With Tampa and Pittsburgh already gone and Oshie now out for Washington, this might be the easiest path to a Cup either team could have dreamed.

Don't think the hockey being played in this series is at the level of what Columbus has been playing. Far more structure, better team D and really good execution. They are finding their groove at right time. No way Bruins or Leafs could have swept Bolts.

 

[The List Of Jericho]

This series has played out like we though it would. Evenly played, both teams winning on each other’s rink.

Did anyone really expect a sweep or another 3-1?

Honestly, this series not being 2-2 would have been surprising.

We already got our 2 shock sweeps in the East. We still don’t know how WSH/CAR plays out, so this is basically a series that can set the tone for what happens going forward with TB out.

You must have missed the polls or the Bruins in 3 plentiful comments.

 

[The List Of Jericho]

according to the polls at the start of each first series thread, this was viewed by HF as the 2nd most lopsided series in the playoffs coming in.

That’s also because of the ineptness of many..

 

[AvalancheFan19]

Why is Sunday’s game time TBD?

 

[danpantz]

You must have missed the polls or the Bruins in 3 plentiful comments.

Lots of trolls from other fan bases.

Most Boston and Toronto fans had this going 6 or 7.

 

[rocketdan9]

 

[Just Rude]

This is one hell of a series and I think the reffing has been very good, for the most part. There's been some missed calls both ways, but that you get that in every playoff series.

Very entertaining hockey. First one to two wins moves on. Gonna be a fun, nerve wracking few days.

 

[Rhaegar Targaryen]

Tons of Leaf fans complaining about the reffing. If they start calling a tighter game, expect the Leafs to get tons of tripping penalties and holding penalties for the slewfoots. And we all know how that Boston power play has been destroying you guys.

 

[rocketdan9]

Why is Sunday’s game time TBD?

Its planned for 3pm start

7pm Raptors play... I guess Toronto wants to avoid playing both games at the same time

They love their "jungle" for the fans to watch Leafs/Raps games

 

[rocketdan9]

Kuraly return is a nice boost for the Bruins

4th line hasnt looked the same since he has been out due to injury

 

[Mathews28]

This is one hell of a series and I think the reffing has been very good, for the most part. There's been some missed calls both ways, but that you get that in every playoff series.

Very entertaining hockey. First one to two wins moves on. Gonna be a fun, nerve wracking few days.

Agree, there are always missed calls, as well as calls that could go either way and which will be viewed from the perspective of our own team allegiance.

In terms of the games themselves, at the outset I felt that a key was for the bruins to get the TML defense to have to chase the puck below the goal line. Game 4 was a great example of that, where (Bruins TV analysts echoes this, especially Billy Jaffee...he's great) even Marchand, who prefers to hang on to the puck and make things happen creatively, was dumping it in and then the Bruins dug it out. I look for more of the same tonight, with a bit more physical play.

Maybe, just maybe, the Leafs D start to cheat back in anticipation, and give up the blue line a bit more. If so, I see the high forward, or trailing D man with some opportunities between the dots. MacAvoy wrister maybe, and I think #46 gets a couple of points tonight.

 

[rocketdan9]

Good win from Boston. Still the Leafs seem like the better team. Boston seems slow for some reason.

Most teams look slower and less energized when playing away in the playoffs

Fans make a big difference at this time of the season

Bruins wont be slow or have lack of energy tonight, I can tell you that much