“Chaos is a ladder.” - Petyr Baelish
These playoffs are going to be nuts and really will be anyone’s game. By the end of it all some team may have won 19 games instead of the usual 16 to win the Cup. Players with nagging injuries will be healthy, no fans in the stands to cheer on momentum, it’s uncharted territory.
Re-seeding needs to happen after the play-in round no question about it. Only the NHL could get a decision mostly right but still be on the teetering brink of making a stupid decision. Other fans will look at us and think “ha ha you just don’t want Boston” but it really wouldn’t be fair for the top team to have to face anyone but the lowest seeded team, same with the highest rank from the play-in round having to face the highest seeded team.
I think Columbus might be the most difficult matchup we could’ve gotten of all the play-in teams. They’re gritty, dirty, and a nuisance. They’re also very solid defensively and could cause headaches for us. The only saving grace is that they aren’t all that potent offensively so our historically terrible playoff PK should have an easier time this go around, Lord knows Washington and Boston absolutely feasted on us when they went on the powerplay.
If the Leafs put in the effort they should win this one. Andersen has a chance to redeem his bad season and so far bad playoff performances for us here as well. Defensively Rielly and Muzzin should be operating at near peak efficiency. Ceci and to a lesser extent Barrie will be our obvious weak spots on the back-end as neither guy has found great chemistry with anyone and when it looked like they were close to doing so a major injury to our defence derailed them and we lost time developing that chemistry. Dermott and Holl will need to take that next step, especially Travis who’s been in the league longer and who we’ve been waiting on to break out.
The offence should be able to take on Columbus’ style, but then again we all thought that California trip would allow us to put some distance between us and Florida, and then the team decided to score 3 goals in three games against some of the worst the NHL has to offer. Hopefully Tavares is healthy and whatever nagging injuries he had are no longer an issue, and Matthews should be motivated given how he was jobbed out of the Rocket because of COVID. Nylander I’m confident will perform, Marner was putting up the points but wasn’t looking so hot doing so. Maybe this extended break has allowed him to clear his head.
Biggest X Factors this series will be Andersen and Mikheyev. Mikheyev gives us something up front that we lack with his size, reach, and defensive instincts. If he can hit the ground running that makes our top 6 a lot more varied and formidable. Andersen I’ve mentioned already but it can’t be stressed enough just how much this team relies on him. It’s a tale as old as time for the Leafs to put too much on the goaltending but it’s going to have to happen again. He’s got a shot at redemption but if he struggles and we end up down like 2-0 in the series Campbell may have to step in and take the reigns.
Personally I’m very excited for these unorthodox playoffs. Pure chaos and uncertainty. Can’t wait to watch hockey again.