Who do you think will win the North division (in the playoffs)?

[bobholly39]

The playoff race in the North Division seems all but finalized. It's still plausible one of the top 4 teams could have a huge stumble, but seems super unlikely based on current standings and with less than 20 games to go. Which would mean the 4 playoff teams would be:

Toronto
Edmonton
Winnipeg
Montreal

To be honest - none of those teams have a recent track record of doing anything worthwhile in the playoffs. Toronto hasn't won a round in ages. Montreal hasn't done good in a long time (good showing in 2020, but only won 1 play-in round). Edmonton/Winnipeg both made it a bit farther a few years ago, but that seems a while ago now, and more recently they have both stumbled. All teams have looked good in various ways this season though. Toronto has led most year, Edmonton has McDrai, Winnipeg has been solid throughout, and Montreal added a lot more depth and been competitive all year, while also being the best of the 4 in the 2020 playoffs.

So - with ~15-19 games to go in the season, who do you predict wins out the playoffs in the North division this year?

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[Spirit of 67]

Standings tell the tale.

If the Leafs don't get out of the division, it's hard to imagine a scenario where it's not a failure.

 

[Spilot23]

I would be inclined to say the Leafs but man everytime I underrate the Habs in the playoffs they surprise me. Ehhhh I will underrate them again and say Leafs.

 

[Pi]

If it isn’t Toronto, I’d be shocked. We’ve played MTL, EDM and WPG and pretty much dominated all of them.

The one player I am scared of is Hellebuyck because he singlehandedly stole 2 games for the Jets despite the Leafs playing in their zone the whole time.

Leafs haven’t won in the playoffs because they have faced Washington, Boston and Boston (when they were much better).

Columbus should have been a W but the Leafs shot less than 2% over 5 games on ES. I don’t think that’s something that’s repeatable against this team.

None of the Habs, Oilers or Jets are anywhere near the competition the Leafs have faced in the years past. They basically lost 2 toss ups against Boston.

TL;DR: I am only scared of Hellebuyck. Someone tell him to chill the f*** out.

 

[The Assclown]

To summarize the four teams:

Toronto has great impact forwards upfront with effective depth down their forward group and for the first time in almost 20 years have a respectable defense group. Despite this, they're still likely to find a way to not win a playoff round.
Edmonton has McDavid and Drai and those two are capable of winning games on their own. Their secondary scoring is better this year beyond them, but ultimately, they're a two-man show and that's not confidence inspiring in the playoffs.
Winnipeg has a group forward group that I believe is capable of stepping it up in the playoffs. They don't have a strong defense outside of a Pionk and Morrissey and that could get exposed in the playoffs.
Montreal has exceptional depth through their entire line-up that works hard from the drop of the puck to the final whistle. They can also skate, are good defensively, and have an ace in their pocket in Carey Price that could activate God mode.

Toronto has clearly shown they are the class of the North to this point, but I'm picking Montreal to win the North this year as they seem more suited to a playoff-type game.

 

[Madap]

Leafs. There are really no more excuses anymore. Clearly the best team in the division and if they don't get it done then it will be a huge failure of a season. They've got their coach for a full year, better defense, good goaltending, Matthews has stepped up his game, and will (hopefully) have great depth after the trade deadline. If they can't win this year then something is wrong.

I think if Winnipeg can improve their defense then they may stand a decent shot, especially with their goaltending. Montreal and Edmonton are toast however.

 

[NyQuil]

Has to be Toronto or it would be a massive choke.

They lapped the division so it's pretty much theirs to lose.

 

[EdJovanovski]

 

[BlueBaron]

It's easy to say Toronto which is what I want but anything can happen. I could see Winnipeg beating us but the Habs and Oilers arent too scary. I think Winnipeg is the only team with a goalie a clear cut above the other four. Of course I'm hoping Campbell is still playing like a god and takes away this advantage but it seems like a lot to ask.

Fearless prediction: Leafs beat Habs in 6 in round one, Leafs beat Jets in 7 in round two.

 

[Techcoockie]

If it isn’t Toronto, I’d be shocked

try to pass a first round first before, Habs already showed more in playoff than "superstars" Toronto.

 

[LeafGrief]

Leafs are the clear favourites. Hellebucyk is the only player in the division that really scares me. Drai and McDavid are obviously incredible talents, but I think the Leafs are more than comfortable going blow for blow with Edmonton's skaters as a group. Goalies can win things single handedly and Hellebucyk is the guy who can win a series by himself. Real nice group of forwards in Winnipeg too, it will be interesting to see if they can land an impact defenseman at the deadline.

 

[The Assclown]

try to pass a first round first before, Habs already showed more in playoff than "superstars" Toronto.

I did pick Montreal to come out of the North, but Toronto does look "different" this year versus other years. They play with better structure and their underlying defensive metrics are so much better than anything we've seen in the recent past.

 

[Taluss]

This is the year the Leafs end their drought at making it past the 1st round. I think Leaf fans should be excited actually...I havent watched em play this year but this year seems like a good one for them to make a big run. Especially if Dubas is able to grab another top forward.

 

[TheKrebsCycle]

I think Leafs but I agree Winnipeg is plenty scary. Especially if they can upgrade the D. Arguably the Jets have the best group of forwards and undoubtedly the best tender in the division. They can also play a heavy game. That's a combination that would give most if not all teams fits . I know Wheeler is hurt but sleeping on Winnipeg just seems foolish . Especially in a series anything can happen.

 

[King Woodballs]

Toronto will win it running away.

 

[Rhaegar Targaryen]

Leafs haven’t won in the playoffs because they have faced Washington, Boston and Boston (when they were much better).

Columbus should have been a W but the Leafs shot less than 2% over 5 games on ES. I don’t think that’s something that’s repeatable against this team.

Fun fact: 3/4 of the last teams that beat Toronto in a series (2017 Caps, 2018 Bruins, 2020 Blue Jackets) went on to lose in the next round. They weren’t some unbeatable team, they just beat up on a soft Leaf team that chokes every year.

For the poll, I went Winnipeg. If the standings stay how they are now, I see Montreal knocking off Toronto and Winnipeg knocking off Edmonton. And then obviously Winnipeg knocking off Montreal.

 

[North Cole]

Leafs > Jets > SOilers > Montreal. (Voted Jets)

I can pretty reasonably see Helle stealing a series from someone, but I think if Campbell plays well enough and Helle doesn't put up 5 games of 0.950, the Leafs should win the first two rounds. I think it will be the Leafs, but the Jets should give them the hardest run for their money. Oilers plays the Jets well, so if McDavid can actually wake up against Montreal and Toronto, you can't count us out either.

I don't really know what to do with Montreal, team is an enigma to me. Oilers get dunked on every game, but I don't feel like the Habs are world beaters. Price like Helle can just hit another gear and send some team home, but Montreal doesn't really have a great record given the amount of OT losses they have. That being said, you don't play 3v3 OT and the slog of playoff hockey benefits their style of play.

Hate putting the Oilers third since I would obviously like to see us get out, but overall looking forward to the games. Also looking forward to the site crashing 500x from the Canadian series' GDTs (not that I will be in them since they will be toxic as hell). Also hoping that whoever wins the CAD division dunks on the next team and gets to the SCF, mostly so that everyone south of the border can eat some crow, it's been obnoxiously as hell reading every thread devolve into - "North Div sucks, wait till you play real teams".

Please join me in a prayer for the Mods and their sanity. Press Alt+F4 to pay respects.

 

[Jared Dunn]

Montreal has no business winning but as bad as he's been in the last few years Price could very realistically flip a switch and they have a big, fast team that I think will stand up well to playoff hockey. Should be Toronto's division though someone has to be on the hot seat if they don't make it out

 

[All Mod Cons]

Fun fact: 3/4 of the last teams that beat Toronto in a series (2017 Caps, 2018 Bruins, 2020 Blue Jackets) went on to lose in the next round. They weren’t some unbeatable team, they just beat up on a soft Leaf team that chokes every year.

For the poll, I went Winnipeg. If the standings stay how they are now, I see Montreal knocking off Toronto and Winnipeg knocking off Edmonton. And then obviously Winnipeg knocking off Montreal.

Course you do.

 

[David Suzuki]

I feel pretty comfortable saying this is the order of likeliness

1. Toronto
2. Winnipeg
3. Montreal
4. Edmonton

Obviously deadline moves can change it but for now I feel pretty comfortable with this.

 

[Rockomax]

If it isn’t Toronto, I’d be shocked. We’ve played MTL, EDM and WPG and pretty much dominated all of them.

The one player I am scared of is Hellebuyck because he singlehandedly stole 2 games for the Jets despite the Leafs playing in their zone the whole time.

Leafs haven’t won in the playoffs because they have faced Washington, Boston and Boston (when they were much better).

Columbus should have been a W but the Leafs shot less than 2% over 5 games on ES. I don’t think that’s something that’s repeatable against this team.

None of the Habs, Oilers or Jets are anywhere near the competition the Leafs have faced in the years past. They basically lost 2 toss ups against Boston.

TL;DR: I am only scared of Hellebuyck. Someone tell him to chill the f*** out.

Habs suck, but Toronto dominating them is a stretch at best. Domination is about EDM vs. OTT.

 

[AvroArrow]

Fun fact: 3/4 of the last teams that beat Toronto in a series (2017 Caps, 2018 Bruins, 2020 Blue Jackets) went on to lose in the next round. They weren’t some unbeatable team, they just beat up on a soft Leaf team that chokes every year.

For the poll, I went Winnipeg. If the standings stay how they are now, I see Montreal knocking off Toronto and Winnipeg knocking off Edmonton. And then obviously Winnipeg knocking off Montreal.

Fun fact, Matthews/Marner/Nylander were all rookies vs Washington, Caps went on to win the cup the following year. Both Boston series went to game 7, Boston made the cup final. CBJ had a .980 save percentage. Another fun fact, only 1 team every year is "unbeatable"

Lets bet they make it out of the North this year. If you're wrong you change your avatar to a maple leafs logo, shouldn't be too hard since you claim to be a Leafs Fan. Yay or nay ?

 

[NyQuil]

Lets bet they make it out of the North this year. If you're wrong you change your avatar to a maple leafs logo, shouldn't be too hard since you claim to be a Leafs Fan. Yay or nay ?

Avatar bets are fun!

And what avatar will you sport?

 

[Artorius Horus T]

Montreal.

 

[AvroArrow]

Avatar bets are fun!

And what avatar will you sport?

Whatever the OP wants !