ECSF: Toronto Maple Leafs (A2) vs. Florida Panthers (WC2) ( Florida Leads 3-1 )

[Just Rude]

Ah ok, I honestly had no idea, or I just forgot, thanks! That actually is a great story.

I am going to give you a slight correction to the story however, as I'm a WW1 historian and I have been to this battlefield many times.

The first time the Germans used gas was at the 2nd battle of Ypres, Belgium. The Canadians had in fact recently taken over from the French in French trenches which were in a terrible state. When the gas attack came 2 medics in the Canadian lines knew it was chlorine gas and instructed the men to pee in their handkerchiefs and breathe through that, as the acidic urine would crystallize the chlorine gas. However to their left and right the French Colonial troops broke and ran.

Furthermore the rifle the Canadians used was the crappy Ross Rifle, as the politicians in Canada wanted a Canadian made rifle for the troops and not the fantastic British made Lee Enfield. The Ross rifle was prone to jamming and in the muddy trench conditions the rifle was constantly jamming. So you had a Canadian soldier breathing through a urine soaked hanky with one hand and firing this shitty rifle with the other, while his mate behind him was kicking the breech open with his foot unjamming the weapon and trying not to blow his head off in the process. The Canadians actually retreated but not after several counterattacks where they did win some ground back.

The famous Brooding Soldier statue near St Julien Belgium stands today as a commeroration of the battle and this battle also inspired the poem In Flanders Fields by John McCrae.

View attachment 701052

The Canadians had a well earned fearsome reputation by the Germans, who always wanted to know where the Canadians were, as they knew that was where the main Allied attack would always come.

So how in the hell do you expect me to hate the Leafs anymore after a story like that?!?!?!?!

Holy shit. We exchanged barbs earlier today, but that is one f***ing impressive post. Kudos. And I mean it.

 

[5 Mins 4 Ftg]

Holy shit. We exchanged barbs earlier today, but that is one f***ing impressive post. Kudos. And I mean it.

Thanks, I was being a bit of a prick earlier. I don’t want to jinx my teams run!

Either way I’ll still be cheering on the Cats but I won’t be surprised if the Leafs win and if they do I hope we can meet in the Final.

That would be epic.

 

[TorMapleJays]

I won't take away from his offense, he's great offensively but defensively he's very suspect and he benefited a lot from that whacky all-offense Florida scoring system.

Florida does have some fantastic offensive guns but it doesn't look like a very complete team to me. I'll confess I haven't watched a heck of a lot of Montour but you rating him as the best D in the series seems way off base to me. We'll see what he's about come game time.

Local boy who I am sure is going to enjoy playing every night on HNIC in front of his friends and family. I still don't think its enough. Leafs should walk over Florida and just don't take the foot off the petal like Boston did.

 

[Jojalu]

Congrata Panther fans! This should be a great series.

I for one am nervous about facing you guys after the historic upset!

 

[DaveMatthew]

Their top two centers and starting goaltender were injured. You also clearly didn't watch the Tampa and Toronto series, where Tampa looked like a far better team than Boston did.

Did Tampa look better than Boston or was Toronto worse than Florida? Tampa was without Cernak, and Hedman/Point were always clearly hurt out there.

Comparing the two series' is bizarre.

Bruins blow a lead: Choke! Panthers won because Bruins choked.
Lightning blow a lead: Man what a great team! But the Leafs took that game from them.

Weird takes.

 

[authentic]

Did Tampa look better than Boston or was Toronto worse than Florida? Tampa was without Cernak, and Hedman/Point were always clearly hurt out there.

Comparing the two series' is bizarre.

Bruins blow a lead: Choke! Panthers won because Bruins choked.
Lightning blow a lead: Man what a great team! But the Leafs took that game from them.

Weird takes.

Tampa played better than Boston did and Leafs won in 6 games. We had 6 players including a defenseman score more than their highest scorer. Hedman also looked way better in those games than Bergeron or Krejci did, same goes for Point. It's not that hard to figure out.

 

[DaveMatthew]

Tampa played better than Boston did and Leafs won in 6 games. We had 6 players score more than their highest scorer. Hedman also looked way better in those games than Bergeron or Krejci did, same goes for Point. It's not that hard to figure out.

Or Florida played better than Toronto...

Tkachuk scored 11 points. Montour scored 8. Verheaghe scored 8.

The big dogs for the Panthers showed up, just like they did for the Leafs. Bobrovsky made as many big saves in elimination games as Samsonov did.

Trying to diminish what the Panthers pulled off is bizarre.

The Bruins finished with 37 more points than the Lightning. But yes, the Leafs were the ones who had the tougher opponent.

It's funny, all we heard going into the playoffs was that Tampa wasn't what they used to be. They were older, slower, tired. Now, all of a sudden, the Leafs took down a team at the peak of their dynasty...

 

[SenzZen]

Panthers go from zero pressure to people wondering what they can do here.

Leafs have bucked the history of failing in the first round, so they’re playing with House money.

Leafs in 5.

 

[Peasy]

Or Florida played better than Toronto...

Tkachuk scored 11 points. Montour scored 8. Verheaghe scored 8.

The big dogs for the Panthers showed up, just like they did for the Leafs. Bobrovsky made as many big saves in elimination games as Samsonov did.

Trying to diminish what the Panthers pulled off is bizarre.

In the end none of this matters by tomorrow night at 7pm est,

Silly to compare different series and who did what better.

 

[DaveMatthew]

Panthers go from zero pressure to people wondering what they can do here.

Leafs have bucked the history of failing in the first round, so they’re playing with House money.

Leafs in 5.

It seems more like the opposite.

All the media today has been about how the road has cleared for the Leafs and there is a direct path to the finals. They're now the betting favorites in Vegas. Nobody sees Florida as a huge obstacle.

Overdrive today was already talking about an Oilers/Leafs SCF. "Florida just won their cup. NJ is too young. Carolina is too injured. NY isn't as good. It's the Leafs' to lose."

Leafs went from "amazing we finally won a round" to "holy shit we'll never have as good a chance as this again".

Losing to Florida would be seen as a disaster, whereas losing to Boston would have been disappointing but acceptable progress.

I don't know if it'll make an impact, but the pressure on the Leafs shifted significantly as soon as Florida scored that goal.

 

[Stolie the Goalie]

Wouldn't be surprised if the Leafs drop the first game tomorrow and then win next 4 out of the 5.

 

[authentic]

Or Florida played better than Toronto...

Tkachuk scored 11 points. Montour scored 8. Verheaghe scored 8.

The big dogs for the Panthers showed up, just like they did for the Leafs. Bobrovsky made as many big saves in elimination games as Samsonov did.

Trying to diminish what the Panthers pulled off is bizarre.

The Bruins finished with 37 more points than the Lightning. But yes, the Leafs were the ones who had the tougher opponent.

It's funny, all we heard going into the playoffs was that Tampa wasn't what they used to be. They were older, slower, tired. Now, all of a sudden, the Leafs took down a team at the peak of their dynasty...

Marner scored 11 points, Matthews scored 9, Rielly scored 8, all in 6 games, and against a healthy goalie (the best playoff goalie in the world). I'm basing my opinon on what actually happened in the playoffs, not what "Leafs fans thought Tampa would be" heading into the series. If we don't play Justin Holl (14-2 Tampa with him on the ice - 19-6 Leafs without him in the first 5 games) that series probably would've ended in 5 like many predicted. Florida won't have the benefit of feasting on our only real weakness.

 

[BackToTheBrierePatch]

There’s a very special hatred reserved for the likes of Matt Tkachuk. I’m sure you guys will find it.

Agree with Kucherov. Can’t stand him either.

Any fanbase would love to have a talent like Matt Tkachuk on their team. He is a easy guy to hate but I would kill to have him on my team

 

[DaveMatthew]

Marner scored 11 points, Matthews score 9, Rielly scored 8, all in 6 games, and against a healthy goalie. I'm basing my opinon on what actually happened in the playoffs, not what "Leafs fans thought Tampa would be" heading into the series. If we don't play just Holl (14-2 Tampa with him on the ice - 19-6 Leafs in the first 5 games) that series it probably wouldn't ended in 5 like many predicted. Florida won't have the benefit of feasting on our only real weakness.

If Bunting doesn't take out Cernak the Lightning don't blow coverage at the end of games 3 and 4 and win the series in 5. See, anyone can make up hypotheticals.

The reality:

The Leafs beat a very good Tampa team. The Panthers beat a very good Bruins team. No need to claim that the Leafs deserved their win, or showed more, than the Panthers did in theirs. That's nonsense.

Both teams were outplayed at times, but showed a ton of grit to come back and score the big goals. Both teams benefitted from injuries to the opposition while staying healthy themselves, which is key in any playoff run.

 

[Just Rude]

B’s had an incredible season but I just have a hunch Florida is going to give them all they can handle.

That is what I said in the FLA/BOS thread before the series. I thought the Cats were a bad matchup for the B’s, and played them tough throughout the season.

They’re going to give the Leafs all they can handle, but I’ve seen a few posts suggesting the Cats are going to push the Leafs around and Toronto won’t be able to match the physicality.

Seriously, people need to stop thinking this is six or seven years ago. No one is pushing the Leafs around. It’s a myth.

 

[HockeyVirus]

I dunno how I feel about that. I always thought very highly of the Toronto teams of the early 00's especially the year we got Leetch but lost to Philly
im excited to see how this turns out I think we got a legit chance to win but cant assume we will win. Florida is a team that can make us pay for mistakes very quickly.

I just mean with those years we always had key injuries and monsters ahead of us. The east is wide open right now with Tampa and Boston out early, and we got out of round 1 completely healthy. That is going to change eventually but sitting where we are today, a fully healthy roster in round 2 against the 2nd wildcard team is a damn good spot to be in

 

[Just Rude]

Losing to Florida would be seen as a disaster, whereas losing to Boston would have been disappointing but acceptable progress.

You obviously have no clue about Toronto’s history with the Bruins over the past decade.

 

[stats1]

Yeah this isn’t the 2018 Leafs… I would love to see someone try Schenn…try taking on McCabe/Gio etc. we’re not the young weak team anymore. No one is going to be pushing the Leafs around

 

[DaveMatthew]

You obviously have no clue about Toronto’s history with the Bruins over the past decade.

I'm talking from a media narrative.

If Boston made it through and the Leafs lost to them, the sentiment would have been, "Bruins were the best regular season team in history but the Leafs made great progress. They slayed the Tampa dragon and this was the Last Dance for Boston. What can you do. Next year is their year."

If the Leafs lose to the Panthers, the sentiment will be, "Wow, what a blown opportunity. They lost to a wildcard team. Were the Leafs actually good or was Tampa just exhausted and injured?"

The last 24 years have seen a massive swing in expectations.

I don't think it'll faze the Leafs, and I do think they win in 7, but the pressure is definitely squarely on them. Nobody is picking Florida.

 

[Turin]

I actually like this iteration of the Leafs a decent amount but Panthers in 4 is by far the funniest possible scenario in these playoffs, so I'm gonna have to go with that.

 

[BackToTheBrierePatch]

If the Leafs rely on their PP to score than they will get burned. Florida was better than Boston 5 on 5 and that was one of the main reasons Florida advanced. Toronto better be better than Boston was at even strength.

 

[Boss Man Hughes]

Or Florida played better than Toronto...

Tkachuk scored 11 points. Montour scored 8. Verheaghe scored 8.

The big dogs for the Panthers showed up, just like they did for the Leafs. Bobrovsky made as many big saves in elimination games as Samsonov did.

Trying to diminish what the Panthers pulled off is bizarre.

The Bruins finished with 37 more points than the Lightning. But yes, the Leafs were the ones who had the tougher opponent.

It's funny, all we heard going into the playoffs was that Tampa wasn't what they used to be. They were older, slower, tired. Now, all of a sudden, the Leafs took down a team at the peak of their dynasty...

Florida is shit. They only looked good beuase the Bruins didn't.

 

[DaveMatthew]

Florida is shit. They only looked good beuase the Bruins didn't.

Toronto is shit. They only looked good because Vasilevskyi didn't.

 

[Drugs Delaney]

Florida is shit. They only looked good beuase the Bruins didn't.

God I hope the Leafs think like this too. Florida will clean their clocks.

 

[Kelly]

God I hope the Leafs think like this too. Florida will clean their clocks.

They won't.

You're quoting a Canadiens fan btw.