Is this the year that an Eastern team will be able to take Tampa out?

[BayStBullies]

Hur dur Leafs first round exist, strong handshake, blurt hur

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

It's gonna be Toronto vs Tampa in round 1 again. Do you think they will beat Tampa? It's still a toss up imo

i think this is the year

 

[Pavels Dog]

I think there's a chance that an eastern team will be able to take Tampa out, but I also think there's a chance no one takes them out. It could go either way.

 

[Schennanigans]

If it’s not Toronto that beats them, Boston definitely will.

 

[Luigi Lemieux]

I think so, they have looked poor defensively this year.

 

[Demandedace]

The east is incredibly strong, I would take any of Boston, NJ, Carolina, and NYR over them and even Toronto would be a toss-up.

I'm taking the field over Tampa all day - weird thread to be honest, considering they aren't even the top team in their division this year

 

[ccman68]

watching us play defense is torture right now and i would be very surprised if the leafs don’t just destroy us. i guess we could flip the switch come playoffs but i feel like all the hockey we’ve played is starting to add up plus hedman is falling off a cliff

 

[HockeyVirus]

watching us play defense is torture right now and i would be very surprised if the leafs don’t just destroy us. i guess we could flip the switch come playoffs but i feel like all the hockey we’ve played is starting to add up plus hedman is falling off a cliff

That is what scares me. Don't think they have enough to win this year but they might have enough to win a few rounds. Leafs though will be prepared for war

 

[Aashir Mallik]

My advanced stats say this:
View attachment 660250

can we get game 7 into the negatives??

Persoanlly I think you’d shift game 4 here to game 5 and game 5 to game 6.

Most likely we beat them in 6 if we win imo

 

[Acesup]

I think there's a chance that an eastern team will be able to take Tampa out, but I also think there's a chance no one takes them out. It could go either way.

Way to go out on a limb you should become a sports broadcaster.

 

[Canes]

 

[Gary Bets Man]

No matter what happens in round one, the Bruins will take the Lightning out.

But what if Toronto wins round 1? Doesn’t it matter a little bit?

 

[TimeZone]

Toronto has the team on paper to get it done outside of their goaltending.

Samsonov is a bum

 

[BlueSeal]

Nope

 

[BamBamCam]

Yes. Last season Tampa was still trying to defend their championship and had the same core. They lost a big part of their defense in McD, and Vasi looks mortal more and more.

I wouldn't be surprised if the Leafs win in 5.

Yes you would, until your Leafs makes it out of the first round. You can't make a comment like the bolded part

 

[Sky04]

Tampa is 18-5 in playoff series since 2015, Toronto is 0-6. Crazy how they can't win a single playoff series. Toronto was supposed to be the next best young team after Tampa.

Marner turns 26 this year and hasn't been to the 2nd round, Tampa's core had already been to the finals and 2 other conference finals by the time Kucherov was 25.

 

[Panthaz89]

Yes. Last season Tampa was still trying to defend their championship and had the same core. They lost a big part of their defense in McD, and Vasi looks mortal more and more.

I wouldn't be surprised if the Leafs win in 5.

I think we have witnessed enough Leafs games after they have had a 3-1 lead in a series to know that to know that their 4th win feels impossible.

 

[Divine]

As it currently stands,

It's be pretty disappointing if Toronto doesn't take them out considering they were a phantom high sticking call away from eliminating them in Game 6 last year.

And now they added RoR.

Tampa is a weaker team than last year, Toronto looks stronger - assuming their team manages to get chemistry by the playoffs.

Wild card is obvious Vasi, because he can steal the series alone.

Over the last 3 years, Toronto was the closest Eastern Conference team to eliminating TB. They had the Lightning down 3-2, and were up 2-1 with 10 mins left dominating the game. Phantom high sticking call leads to a 2 min 2 man adv. and the worst goalie since January 2022 in net, and the rest is history.

 

[SheldonJPlankton]

Leaf's desperation deadline moves show a panicky management group. You don't add 6 new players to an otherwise good team unless you have zero faith in your current core to succeed on their own.

Tampa in 6.

 

[Divine]

Leaf's desperation deadline moves show a panicky management group. You don't add 6 new players to an otherwise good team unless you have zero faith in your current core to succeed on their own.

Tampa in 6.

Colorado added 7 players via trade last season, 4 at the deadline.

The desperation seemed to work out pretty well for them.

 

[Chips]

Tampa looks really good, but idk. This isn’t really based on anything other than “it’s bound to happen eventually” and “good teams get knocked out early every year”

I think one or two rounds this season.

I think the leafs skater group is good enough to do it, but as much as I’m rooting for Sammy I’ve seen him fall off in the playoffs. Is Murray gonna be put back together by then? That’s the question area for the leafs until I see otherwise

 

[SheldonJPlankton]

Colorado added 7 players via trade last season, 4 at the deadline.

The desperation seemed to work out pretty well for them.

Looks like the Leafs added 10 players trading last season, 4 at the deadline.

History proved a playoff failure.

 

[Uncle Scrooge]

I think so. 4th consecutive year in the finals would be ridiculous, and the road to get there is probably tougher than it's been.

Obviously they can make it, but I think chances are against it. They're not unbeatable by any means.

 

[Chet Manley]

TB's top 5 players are still better than the top 5 players on any of the team they'll meet in the east.

 

[lawrence]

Maybe Toronto. Don't count them out.