Just dropping in so I can put it on the record that Leafs are going to win this series. It has nothing to do with avenging 2013, this is a totally different team who doesn't give a damn about that. They're going to win the series, and I think they should be favorites, Boston's toughness(some of you guys seem to think they still employ Luicic, Horton, Boychuck, Thorton) and experience are being overrated(Tampa has more recent playoff success and more players with experience but everyone was chomping at the bit to play them). The Bruins top line is the odds on favorite to be the best in the series but Matthews will not get dominated by him night in, night out like some are afraid of he should be able to break even and will likely win a couple of games of the matchup and has a chance to win the majority, he might lose the matchup but it will hardly be a series ending blowout.
After that we put our "spreading out the talent" philosophy to the test where we should handle them, they have more of an influx of young depth talent than in the best but our guys are the veterans compared to most of them for what its worth and Marner, Kadri, and JVR need to step up and be the best forwards after the first line. Defense is always questioned but Boston's is far from Nashville, I think Leafs are pretty close to the Bruins Rielly is the best dman in the series for my money, Chara has slowed down by playoffs a couple of times we'll see how he does and how he handles the Leafs speed, Gardiner played like a 1D last year here's hoping he brings it again, Zaistev well he pretty much sucks I hope he's a bit better but if he's not...don't be surprised to see more minutes for Dermott.
Positive posters on this board insist the Leafs have been coasting most of the season on autopilot, not trying in meaningless games. And they have looked pretty anemic at times. But if we believe they're saving an extra gear(and we've obviously seen this team put their foot on the gas pedal) then I hope that's been for a reason because Boston's been going full throttle for a while so if there is anything(anything at all) to this theory of handling the grind of 82 games(see also: handling of Matthews ice team) this should be where it pays dividends. On a related note to this Babcock is considered the best coach in hockey by many and I think he has the more talented roster here, at worst its incredibly close, so one would imagine this gives us some kind of advantage.
TL/DR: Leafs will win, and are not underdogs.
