ECQF: Boston Bruins vs Toronto Maple Leafs (Series Tied 3-3)

[BB79]

The difference between these teams (and the reason Boston still threatened for the presidents trophy minus Bergeron) is that Boston plays as a team and Toronto plays as a group of individuals.

And the goaltending. Don't forget the goaltending.

 

[Zegs2sendhelp]

Tavares needs to step down as captain. Give the C to Matthews or Reily.

Matthews and rielly dont strike me as captain material

 

[biturbo19]

Leafs should flip to Woll

Forget "flip to"...They probably should've just gone with that in the first place. Hardly the only issue for the Leafs in this one, but i don't know why they felt the need to "find out" if Samsonov could get the job done. That should've been a fairly clear "no" based on the season he's had. I'd want to put my best foot forward and start with my best goaltender available, personally. But i guess the Leafs wanted to try for a miracle with Samsonov first?

 

[SeanMoneyHands]

Matthews and rielly dont strike me as captain material

Me neither but you look at their team and I don’t see a real leader on this roster. Giordano is probably the only leader.

 

[Devilmademedoit]

Love how many leaf fans just won't admit the Bruins are the far better team and the Leafs are thevl underdogs in the series

 

[rfournier103]

Hopefully they're more exciting than today's games. What wet fart start (say that three times fast) to the playoffs.

What was wrong with tonight's game?

 

[DFC]

The Leafs are built in the best possible way to disappoint their fanbase every year.

 

[22Brad Park]

Leafs have not beaten Boston in 65 years and 8 straight.Definitely an uphill battle to get this monkey off the backs.Anyhow game 1 in books now on to game 2.

 

[OurlordAndSaviorKuch]

Bruins were in their heads before this series even started.

$40 million contingent were no shows.

And Keefe is vastly overrated good lord that was something watching him wait until twenty seconds are left on the PP to pull the goalie.

 

[thegazelle]

I have been an Oilers fan since I lived in Edmonton as a kid but when we moved to the GTA, I tried to adopt the Leafs as my team. Really did. And to a degree, I enjoyed them during the Iafrate and Salming years and then into a great years with Gilmour, Clark, Felix Potvin, etc.

There is something about this current iteration that I don't like and I've never been able to put my finger on it exactly but I do think a lot of it has to do with Shanahan joining the club. He is far too arrogant, plays favourites and just will not force a tough decision to be made. He was always eying the no NHL experience Dubas and elevated him far faster than he should have been. Dubas, funny enough, tried to usurp to much power and wanted to be the man and so he was given the boot and then Pittsburgh gave him what he was looking for.

Similarly, Dubas was eyeing Keefe all along for coach. Anyone else would have been a lame duck until Dubas pulled the trigger, supposedly based on all this analytics research, which funny enough tries to reduce success to primarily tying predictable outcomes to some statistical probabilities and pure numbers.

But Dubas saddled this team with some bloated contracts, which have handcuffed them from putting together the kind of team that gels, plays with chemistry, and doesn't rely on a flashy four to carry the load all year and in the playoffs. People can look at a team like the Bruins or even the Knights last year - not too top heavy, but the reason why that is is because management recognizes the value of depth, and not necessarily what is sexy on a surface level. The fact that the Leafs make have the same core group expecting a different result is beyond maddening. It is only a respite that at least Dubas is no longer around.

Certainly I do hope that Boston prevails in this series so that the organization will be out of excuses why they continue to hand the reins over to Shanahan. Tonight's game was a masterclass in one team wanting it more, making the little, sensible and in the background plays to contribute to a positive outcome. Even in the dying seconds, I was pretty impressed when the Boston player dove to block the shot. They had the game comfortably in hand and yet that get up and go and do everything you can was still there. This was indicative of the Bruins' focus all gameThey didn't take their foot off the gas. It is pretty impressive after losing Bergeron and Kreijci that the Bruins can rely on their depth players to contribute as a holistic unit to drive team success.

 

[T REX]

I think if Samsonov was playing behind a great blueline like on Vegas or Dallas, he could put up good numbers because of the system. People were saying that Freddy Andersen was done when he left Toronto and he’s been very solid since joining Carolina. That should not be a surprise.

Unfortunately Samsonov is just not a good fit behind the Leafs defense. He’s not going to give your team that big save at key times of the game or steal games.

I have a strong suspicion Freddy A ends up like previous seasons.

 

[jigglysquishy]

I didn't think Matthews had a bad game.

Marner and Tavares though. Woof.

 

[Bob and 200 others]

What was wrong with tonight's game?

I like watching the leafs getting the shit kicked out of them as much as the next person but It was still boring.

 

[MarchysNoseKnows]

I have been an Oilers fan since I lived in Edmonton as a kid but when we moved to the GTA, I tried to adopt the Leafs as my team. Really did. And to a degree, I enjoyed them during the Iafrate and Salming years and then into a great years with Gilmour, Clark, Felix Potvin, etc.

There is something about this current iteration that I don't like and I've never been able to put my finger on it exactly but I do think a lot of it has to do with Shanahan joining the club. He is far too arrogant, plays favourites and just will not force a tough decision to be made. He was always eying the no NHL experience Dubas and elevated him far faster than he should have been. Dubas, funny enough, tried to usurp to much power and wanted to be the man and so he was given the boot and then Pittsburgh gave him what he was looking for.

Similarly, Dubas was eyeing Keefe all along for coach. Anyone else would have been a lame duck until Dubas pulled the trigger, supposedly based on all this analytics research, which funny enough tries to reduce success to primarily tying predictable outcomes to some statistical probabilities and pure numbers.

But Dubas saddled this team with some bloated contracts, which have handcuffed them from putting together the kind of team that gels, plays with chemistry, and doesn't rely on a flashy four to carry the load all year and in the playoffs. People can look at a team like the Bruins or even the Knights last year - not too top heavy, but the reason why that is is because management recognizes the value of depth, and not necessarily what is sexy on a surface level. The fact that the Leafs make have the same core group expecting a different result is beyond maddening. It is only a respite that at least Dubas is no longer around.

Certainly I do hope that Boston prevails in this series so that the organization will be out of excuses why they continue to hand the reins over to Shanahan. Tonight's game was a masterclass in one team wanting it more, making the little, sensible and in the background plays to contribute to a positive outcome. Even in the dying seconds, I was pretty impressed when the Boston player dove to block the shot. They had the game comfortably in hand and yet that get up and go and do everything you can was still there. This was indicative of the Bruins' focus all gameThey didn't take their foot off the gas. It is pretty impressive after losing Bergeron and Kreijci that the Bruins can rely on their depth players to contribute as a holistic unit to drive team success.

 

[Divine]

The difference between these teams (and the reason Boston still threatened for the presidents trophy minus Bergeron) is that Boston plays as a team and Toronto plays as a group of individuals.

Yet the Leafs made it as far or further than Boston the last 2 years. Weird.

 

[Terrier]

I read in this article that the Leafs' radio crew was on the road with the team for the first time all season, kind of strange.

HORNBY: Bruins bad boy Marchand returns to plague Leafs

Leafs' Max Domi looks to challenge nemesis from Boston

torontosun.com

 

[Zirakzigil]

Tavares needs to step down as captain. Give the C to Matthews or Reily.

Its not like they are doing any better in the playoffs

 

[soothsayer]

Tavares needs to step down as captain. Give the C to Matthews or Reily.

That should do it.

 

[pomx]

Tavares needs to step down as captain. Give the C to Matthews or Reily.

To no show playoff Matthews?

 

[winnipegger]

Yet the Leafs made it as far or further than Boston the last 2 years. Weird.

Well when you put it like that.

Even more weird though: the last decade or two!

 

[Terrier]

 

[The don godfather]

Peake has stabilized everything back there. What a pick up.

 

[authentic]

Well when you put it like that.

Even more weird though: the last decade or two!

Last decade or two has no relevance to these current teams, especially Toronto who is an entirely different team

 

[Mike C]

That's what surprised me most about the game. The Bruins were in playoff mode out of the gate while the Leafs played like it was just another regular season game. Hopefully game 2 will be more competitive after the Leafs regroup. The Leafs' stars need to step it up.

So then they can lose 5-3

 

[MarchysNoseKnows]

Neutral fan here to write my thoughtful, sober and well-thought out takes here.

This Bruins team is Pastrnak, Marchand, McAvoy, 2 good goalies and a pile of hot garbage. They should not be good. But they might be good. And this bothers me so much. I'm so bored of them and want them to fall into the class of mediocre where they belong with BUF, DET, PIT, PHI, NJ, NYI ASAP. They are the most uninteresting team in the playoffs.

I prefer skill over structure. I want the Leafs to sweep so the Bruins spend less time inconveniencing me by existing in these playoffs. But my actual prediction is Bruins in 7, surmounting a 3-1 series deficit, winning the last 3 games by a score of 1-0. My mental health suffers.

How’s that going for you?