Series Talk: North Division Round 1: Leafs (1) vs. Canadiens (4)

[zeke]

I disagree with this somewhat. I would definitely feel a lot better losing in the SCF or 3rd round over the 1st, but ultimately still be sad we couldn't win the cup. Making top 4 or the SCF is a pretty damn good year, and we'd definitely get chirped by non leaf fans/friends/family less.

Believe you wouldn't proudly boast of your 3rd round loss.

 

[Gary Nylund]

But every team loses in the end except for one.

Wow, that's really deep man.

 

[tom leafers]

I disagree with this somewhat. I would definitely feel a lot better losing in the SCF or 3rd round over the 1st, but ultimately still be sad we couldn't win the cup. Making top 4 or the SCF is a pretty damn good year, and we'd definitely get chirped by non leaf fans/friends/family less.

id rather lose in the 3rd round then the SCF.

i dont think my heart or liver could take that after years and years of disappointment.

edit- but yes i would rather lose in the 3rd round as opposed to the 1st or 2nd

edit 2- but none of thats gonna happen!

 

[Gary Nylund]

Believe you wouldn't proudly boast of your 3rd round loss.

Says the guy who boasts about how good our fancy stats were after losing.

Says the guy who earlier today was bragging about how despite losing, we supposedly "played better than expectations" despite not winning a series the last 4 years.

Some people like winning, others like fancy stats and lord knows what else. Go figure.

 

[666]

That's pretty disingenuous. We've stomped the Sens almost their entire existence, have had very little meaningful competition over the last 15 years, and yet the Battle of Ontario remains a psychological reality. The Panthers can't measure up to the Lightning and that's still a rivalry, etc etc. Not all rivalries are born in competitive isolation: Red Wings vs Avs was strictly competitive and that bears out in a pretty dead modern rivalry. That there's still emotion between Leafs and Habs, on both sides, attests to the psychosocial aspects of fandom.

I don't have any unusual ill-will towards the Canadiens but I also didn't grow up in Canada. Quoting all time series ignores the pride that forms on natural cultural divides and dismisses cultural identity as a major player in why and how people participate in sports fandom. If this were unimportant everyone would just be a Patriots fan.

The guy I responded to said every pair of teams is a rivalry. You're suggesting that some pairs are more significant than others due to historical or cultural significance. In that case then we would have rivalies against all the original 6 teams all the Canadian teams everyone in our division etc etc. It gets watered down pretty quickly. If there's some sort of cultural rivalry between the Canadian teams because they're Canadian so be it but that's pretty irrelevant compared to the Habs-Bruins or the Red Sox-Yankees. The Leafs simply don't have any significant rivalries. Nothing wrong with that.

 

[ACC1224]

Says the guy who boasts about how good our fancy stats were after losing.

Says the guy who earlier today was bragging about how despite losing, we supposedly "played better than expectations" despite not winning a series the last 4 years.

Some people like winning, others like fancy stats and lord knows what else. Go figure.

Some enjoy wins, others enjoy finding excuses for losing.
In our new diverse world, everyone is welcome to enjoy sports as the see fit.

 

[Duffman955]

I'm so hyped for this.

Smashing the habs en route to Cup victory? Hell's yes

 

[ALine]

Habs don't really do it for me as a rivalry. Just another team in my books. Call me when the sens get gud...

Still pumped to see the boys take care of business, it gonna be clinical.

leafs in 5 cause the refs won't allow a sweep

 

[Suntouchable13]

You'd have to be well in your 20s in order to remember anything significant about the Leafs being in the 2nd round last. Leafs and Leafs fans need this victory so bad.

 

[7even]

The guy I responded to said every pair of teams is a rivalry. You're suggesting that some pairs are more significant than others due to historical or cultural significance. In that case then we would have rivalies against all the original 6 teams all the Canadian teams everyone in our division etc etc.

No we wouldn't, because the presence of cultural or historical divides doesn't necessitate those divisions be emotionally significant. Much is being made of recently about the Canadiens icing a roster without a native Quebecois for the first time in 112 years. That that has a real weight to some fans underscores their distinct cultural identity. Leafs vs Habs is merely how the traditional competition between Anglo and Franco identity manifests itself in the domain of competitive sport, with the two host cities being the cultural hubs of the majority Anglo Canada vs the minority French diaspora, and ice hockey being the most prominent sport played on the national stage. That's a real thing, and just because I personally don't have any skin in the game doesn't make it frivolous or something that can be dismissed outright. It's very similar to Canada vs Russia internationally, it's a sport both nations excel at and our national pride lenses the emotion of those games.

It gets watered down pretty quickly. If there's some sort of cultural rivalry between the Canadian teams because they're Canadian so be it but that's pretty irrelevant compared to the Habs-Bruins or the Red Sox-Yankees. The Leafs simply don't have any significant rivalries. Nothing wrong with that.

I don't think we have a competitive rivalry with anyone but the Bruins, we simply haven't been a competitive team. The rest is just perspective, where you're standing. I don't feel much of a rivalry vs the Habs, no, I actually like the franchise because being functionally American I can appreciate their history completely divorced from any of the nationalism that's otherwise a flashpoint between the two clubs.

 

[djdev]

I'd take that match up all day any day.

Jack Campbell - 2.11 GAA good for 6th best
Jack Campbell - 0.923 SV% good for 7th (tied) - 0.929 is 2nd . 06 is a rounding error difference.

Jake Allen - 2.68 GAA (26th)
Jake Allen - 0.907 SV% (30th)

allens stats were much stronger when he was playing in a tandem with price, i believe that was his issue in st. louis as well if i remember correctly, the more he plays the worse he plays lol

 

[Washed Up 29YearOld]

Chose Leafs in 5. Montreal can be sneaky and luck their selves into one win

Geographical 'rivalry' aside, Toronto fans probably know hockey better than any other fanbase along with a lot of other Canadian fans bases and I'm rooting for you to win a round and challenge for the cup. Your fans deserve it, and Matthews is absolutely unstoppable when he's on. Unreal if this team couldn't win a round, TOR wayyyy too good and guaranteed they win this one.

It'd be fun to see this core and JT win the cup. I've always loved Marner and hated that we had to take Eichel even though I don't regret it only because I wanted him so bad.

IMO this is your time to go all the way and think you will. Penguins won by outscoring the other team and you have really solid goaltending this season. No clear weakness other than maybe D depth but even that's overblown. This is a cup worthy team. I think you'll steamroll your way to the finals. Good luck across the river Canadian brothers.
-A genuine hockey fan

 

[BoredBrandonPridham]

Has Game 1 been scheduled??

May 19.

Oh looks like it’s May 20, not 19:



Pretty sure I saw a tweet of someone like LeBrun quoting Bill Daly indicating Leafs/Hans series would start the 19th, but maybe that was a “could start as early as” kind of projection.

 

[666]

No we wouldn't, because the presence of cultural or historical divides doesn't necessitate those divisions be emotionally significant. Much is being made of recently about the Canadiens icing a roster without a native Quebecois for the first time in 112 years. That that has a real weight to some fans underscores their distinct cultural identity. Leafs vs Habs is merely how the traditional competition between Anglo and Franco identity manifests itself in the domain of competitive sport, with the two host cities being the cultural hubs of the majority Anglo Canada vs the minority French diaspora, and ice hockey being the most prominent sport played on the national stage. That's a real thing, and just because I personally don't have any skin in the game doesn't make it frivolous or something that can be dismissed outright. It's very similar to Canada vs Russia internationally, it's a sport both nations excel at and our national pride lenses the emotion of those games.



I don't think we have a competitive rivalry with anyone but the Bruins, we simply haven't been a competitive team. The rest is just perspective, where you're standing. I don't feel much of a rivalry vs the Habs, no, I actually like the franchise because being functionally American I can appreciate their history completely divorced from any of the nationalism that's otherwise a flashpoint between the two clubs.

Sounds like you don't think there is a competitive rivalry with the Habs either. And while there might be an insignificant cultural one I'd suggest that most Leafs fans that think there is a Habs rivalry think it's competitive and not cultural. Either way both are insignificant.

Boston is also insignificant and lopsided.

1969 Quarterfinals: Bruins, 4–0
1972 Quarterfinals: Bruins, 4–1
1974 Quarterfinals: Bruins, 4–0
2013 Conference Quarterfinals: Bruins, 4–3
2018 First Round: Bruins, 4–3
2019 First Round: Bruins, 4–3

The Bruins have only one rival and it’s the Habs.
The Habs have only one rival and it’s the Bruins.

We don’t have THAT kind of rival.

 

[TheBeastCoast]

Oh looks like it’s May 20, not 19:



Pretty sure I saw a tweet of someone like LeBrun quoting Bill Daly indicating Leafs/Hans series would start the 19th, but maybe that was a “could start as early as” kind of projection.

I think it was a the North playoffs could start by the 19th. Which they are, the Jets and Oilers play on the 19th and we play on the 20th. My impression anyway.

 

[BoredBrandonPridham]

I think it was a the North playoffs could start by the 19th. Which they are, the Jets and Oilers play on the 19th and we play on the 20th. My impression anyway.

Ah yea this was the tweet:



I didn’t read past may 19 and assumed it meant both lol

 

[Cleetus]

Wow, that's really deep man.

 

[PhiladelphiaKessel]

I hate to be negative , but everyone here seems crazy optimistic. Regular season means nothing. And when I look at how this team has performed in the playoffs the last couple years, it doesn’t look good. There always seems to be some kind of excuse for this group

 

[moon111]

Boston and Washington go on deep runs after lowly “cant win in the playoffs” leafs take them into game 7 OT.

Hell even the Bozak-led abysmal Leafs took Boston to the wire in their heyday.

The only requirement is to win. It’s not going to matter by how much.

Got to remember, Bozak was also injured and didn't play the entire series either. It's easy to think of Bozak as a player being asked to play above his head, sometimes with things back-firing because they had to open up to try and tie a game up. But he wasn't a bad defensive player when asked to fulfill that role, a role that he won a Stanley Cup with. With Bozak, think Leafs win.

 

[Gary Nylund]

Some enjoy wins, others enjoy finding excuses for losing.
In our new diverse world, everyone is welcome to enjoy sports as the see fit.

Indeed! I'm reminded of an old saying my mother liked to use that loosely translates as "the zoo of our good lord is a very big one".

Sounds like you don't think there is a competitive rivalry with the Habs either. And while there might be an insignificant cultural one I'd suggest that most Leafs fans that think there is a Habs rivalry think it's competitive and not cultural. Either way both are insignificant.

We don’t have THAT kind of rival.

Ok so you agree that there is a rivalry, now were just quibbling over adjectives, cool.

You can call it insignificant all you like. Me on the other hand, I grew up hating the Habs, I never stopped hating the Habs and I've been waiting 42 years for revenge. I'm am over the moon thrilled that we're finally getting a crack at those motherf***ers again and I tell you this - this is one of the oldest rivalries in pro sports and while it's been dormant, it is most certainly not dead.

 

[moon111]

For back-to-back games, give a bit more ice-time to your fourth line... only play a completely different fourth for both games.

 

[Gary Nylund]

I hate to be negative , but everyone here seems crazy optimistic. Regular season means nothing. And when I look at how this team has performed in the playoffs the last couple years, it doesn’t look good. There always seems to be some kind of excuse for this group

We're about 5-2 betting favourites. Look at the betting lines for all the 1st round series and you'll see that that out of the odds that have been set so far, no team is a bigger favourite to win the 1st round then the Toronto Maple Leafs - if that's not cause for optimism, you're stuck in the past.

This is a great team so I suggest you sit back, try to not let the ghosts of Leafs past get you down and enjoy the ride.

 

[666]

Indeed! I'm reminded of an old saying my mother liked to use that loosely translates as "the zoo of our good lord is a very big one".



Ok so you agree that there is a rivalry, now were just quibbling over adjectives, cool.

You can call it insignificant all you like. Me on the other hand, I grew up hating the Habs, I never stopped hating the Habs and I've been waiting 42 years for revenge. I'm am over the moon thrilled that we're finally getting a crack at those motherf***ers again and I tell you this - this is one of the oldest rivalries in pro sports and while it's been dormant, it is most certainly not dead.

No offence brother (I think we're back to being civil) but you and many others sound like those whiny Vancouver and Winnipeg fans that hate us for no reason. We have old rivalries with all of the original six but they are just as insignificant as Winnipeg's imagined rivalry with us.

I hope you get your wish and we beat the Habs but I wouldn't get your hopes up, it's 50/50.

 

[KIWILEAFFAN]

There is a just a hint of that nagging feeling from recent failures. I always thought the Leafs were capable of winning a series the last few yrs but they always got in their own way.

This is a different season with some old heads on the team. They seem to have some swagger and confidence. They're also playing pretty well all considered.
I think we win the division and its a best guess after that only because there isint any season series to gain any insight off.
This team Is capable of winning it all this year and that's the first time since the early 90s I have been able to think that.

GLG

 

[Gary Nylund]

No offence brother (I think we're back to being civil) but you and many others sound like those whiny Vancouver and Winnipeg fans that hate us for no reason. We have old rivalries with all of the original six but they are just as insignificant as Winnipeg's imagined rivalry with us.

You don't speak for me, brother. Don't lump in all of the original six together, that's six completely different situations. I've never really cared much about the Rangers one way or the other just as an example.

If you asked people who our biggest rival is, most people will probably say Boston, then probably Ottawa and so on. But try that questionnaire again a few games into this series and I guarantee you there will be more people saying MTL.

I hope you get your wish and we beat the Habs but I wouldn't get your hopes up, it's 50/50.

More like 70-30. That's what the bookmakers say and they're right. What's with this irrational pessimism? Too traumatized by the past to be able to think objectively? It's OK man, a couple of weeks from now it will be better.