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

[PaulD]

Leafs got spanked game 1 last year, won the series. I am not concerned until they have lost at home.

I think the Leafs are winning game 2, double so if Nylander is back.

A lot of folks who are saying it is over would not be saying that had the Leafs won, they would say it is a long series.. Which it is. Lots of hockey left to be played and the Leafs can be a lot better and will be.

Read this post three years ago in first round Leafs against the Habs

 

[Ladyfan]

Leafs are already done.

Only one game has been played. Until one team wins 4, I am not buying that it is over.

As a Bruins fan I hope they can pull this off but until they move on to the next round am nervous.

 

[PB37]

Former Maple Leafs on why TD Garden has been the team's playoff kryptonite: 'You start losing the ability to think'

Maple Leafs teams were shaken to their core by the Bruins' home arena at various points during series losses in 2013, 2018 and 2019.

theathletic.com

 

[HockeyVirus]

Read this post three years ago in first round Leafs against the Habs

And last year against Tampa

 

[Lt Dan]

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

Lol great job choosing a super small sample size to fit your narrative.
Why didn't you go three years? Four years? Five? Or even six?
You "magically" chose a stat to try to improve the untrue

 

[Ladyfan]

Bruins show themselves to be the more well-rounded team, and to have a killer D + G combo.
And how do the Leafs ever hope to go deep in the playoffs without a true #1 goalie? I’m baffled.

Bruins play as a team for each other. That is a huge plus.

 

[HockeyVirus]

Bruins play as a team for each other. That is a huge plus.

So if the Leafs blow the doors of the Bruins tomorrow, we can say that the Leafs play as a team for each other and the Bruins don't?

 

[goldenblack]

Man I have trauma from how much we were hemmed guys

 

[PatriceBergeronFan]

We're not happy with losing the game. We're happy with the compete level (except Marner) and the amount of chances they generated, without Nylander. They controlled the puck for majority of the game, they need to tighten up a bit though. Can't take dumb penalties and start getting guys in front of the net. At the end of the day if you lose 10-0 or 1-0 it's 1 game. As road underdogs, playing without our 2nd best player, a game 1 loss was likely. It's not the end of the series like a lot of "neutral" fans are claiming. Boston literally scored on their 1st shot on net after not being able to touch the puck.

Shots were 6-0 to start, Boston had 1 rush chance after being hemmed in their own zone and they capitalized. They scored on their second shot of the second period as well.

Swayman was just better than our scorers and Sammy sucked.

Just tighten up and get ready for game 2

Controlled the play? Aside from the first two minutes until the Bruins goal, and early in the 3rd until the Geekie monstrous hit, there is hardly any validation to the idea the Leafs controlled the play.

This is either self-justification or based on that absurd "deserve to win meter" nonsense indicating Toronto somehow deserved to win....

Shots also started 4-4 including the Boston goal, so that calls into question much of the rest of this.

 

[PatriceBergeronFan]

i seen this then looking at the score of the actual game again.... yikes lol

This data model is clearly less than worthless.

 

[Divine]

Lol great job choosing a super small sample size to fit your narrative.
Why didn't you go three years? Four years? Five? Or even six?
You "magically" chose a stat to try to improve the untrue

Because we're talking about the current teams. The more recent the sample size the more reliable.

What does Boston's success before Bergeron, Rask and Krejci retired have to do with the current roster? Nothing.

 

[Lt Dan]

Because we're talking about the current teams. The more recent the sample size the more reliable.

What does Boston's success before Bergeron and Rask retired have to do with the current roster? Nothing.

Both cores have been together much longer. Especially Toronto's

 

[Divine]

Both cores have been together much longer. Especially Toronto's

It's not the same core in Boston.

The only siginificant active member is Marchand.

 

[PatriceBergeronFan]

Any non-Leafs fan who didn't think this was essentially a bye to the second round for the Bruins was kidding themselves. None of you should be surprised.

Carolina and NYR have easy series. Ridiculous to suggest this one is like those ones.

Watching games > Staring at a stat sheet

He dominated the puck and had the Bruins hemmed in their own zone almost the entire game with multiple prime scoring chances, he could've easily had 2 or 3 goals but go on lmao

Hardly. Very quiet Matthews last night. Perimeter effort mainly. The only highlight was the post when Swayman was lost in the corner.

 

[Commander Clueless]

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

They're going to have to come up with a more creative way to disappoint me.

This particular formula is pretty stale.

 

[Michel Beauchamp]

Just curious, who do Montreal fans root for in this series?

The frying pan or the fire ?

I pinch my nose and I choose Boston.

Can't forgive the fact that the Leafs beat the Canadiens the summer on my 18th birthday (and of Expo 67)...

 

[PaulD]

And last year against Tampa

and against "we want Florida"

 

[Michel Beauchamp]

Thats the way it always goes. Matthews gets a bunch of shots, good chances and yet he doesn’t score very much in the playoffs.

Then people always defend him and say “Matthews played great, he had a bunch of chances”. Then maybe he should convert on them and score, that’s what he’s paid to do.

He’s not about to be paid over $13 million to just “look good in the playoffs” and not produce.

Shooting % so far in his career:

Regular season: 16.2%

Playoffs (and play-in): 10.0%

Thinking too much about Bieber and/or golf?

 

[PaulD]

The frying pan or the fire ?

I pinch my nose and I choose Boston.

Can't forgive the fact that the Leafs beat the Canadiens the summer on my 18th birthday (and of Expo 67)...

I go for Bruins. Their media and fans are not nearly as annoying.

Only one game has been played. Until one team wins 4, I am not buying that it is over.

As a Bruins fan I hope they can pull this off but until they move on to the next round am nervous.

Good to be nervous when it's your own team. Honest and humble.
But take it from someone with no dog in this fight. Leafs are done.

 

[Michel Beauchamp]

Because we're talking about the current teams. The more recent the sample size the more reliable.

What does Boston's success before Bergeron, Rask and Krejci retired have to do with the current roster? Nothing.

It's probably why they succeeded in being 1-4-3 against the Bruins over the last 2 regular seasons.

 

[wintersej]

I feel like once you get to like 20 games left in the season, you have to make a decision on your Playoff Goaltender (always subject to change, but I don't think you can keep doing the alternating thing at that point). The situation is just too weird. If Swayman plays pretty well, not amazing and they lose 2-1, do they go back to Ullmark? What if he plays alright, but not great and they win 4-3? Doesn't make a lot of sense to not be more firm on where they're at.

It’s a weird situation. But they can’t do what they did last year and say “hey Swayman, you get game 7 after not playing for weeks!” They have been non-commital about how they are gonna handle it. But posted an article a few pages back where Montgomery suggested an option was to rotate the first 4 games and then see where things were at.

 

[Divine]

It's probably why they succeeded in being 1-4-3 against the Bruins over the last 2 regular seasons.

Is the regular season important or not?

People argue it's not important when the Leafs have success but it become critically important when they dont.

 

[PaulD]

That's why fans of losing teams love it so much, since the meter always shows their team having enormous chances at the end of the game, although the winning team was just turtling and not seriously trying score. Recalling that early season thread where some Leafs fans were arguing that Florida barely beat them because they so badly "out-chanced" Florida. Yeah, "out-chanced" after each game was effectively in the books already.

Exactly. It's called playing according to the score.
Notice at 4 -1 everyone knew it was over.

But when leafs lead 4-1 in game 7 against Bs ......everyone knew it wasn't over.

Ya see......One team plays (and adjusts) according to and the score and clock. The other team ( and their fans)dont even know what that means.
As Jim Carey would say "Aaa-looo-Aaaa-zoooers"

 

[Michel Beauchamp]

Is the regular season important or not?

People argue it's not important when the Leafs have success but it become critically important when they dont.

No comments on Matthews' shooting percentage over his career ?

16.2% in regular season.

10.0% in playoffs...

 

[Dr Amazing]

Boston Bruins in 5 this should be easy for the Bruins .