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

[Rants Mulliniks]

Actually it's Detroit, but once again it's insignificant like the 16th digit of pi. Ask yourself, how do Habs fans feel? They feel like we feel when Vancouver or Winnipeg fans whine like little bitches. You can't have a real rivalry when of the teams is laughing at the other. They laugh at us and they are right. We are like the Cleveland of football. ( I know absolutely nothing about football so don't even go there but I know what Cleveland is). It's not a rivalry. It's one side that hates the other side because of a past that hasn't meant anything in over 50 years. You are too emotional. Get over it. Be realistic. If we beat this horrible Habs team, great. But it's nothing.

You realize the rivalry is mostly born out of English versus French and culture, yes? Don't kid yourself that that is just gone.

Edit - Sorry mod, saw your post after.

 

[egd27]

Ranking the top 5 greatest NHL rivalries of all-time

https://edge.twinspires.com/nhl/the-greatest-rivalries-in-nhl-history/

Power Ranking the Best Rivalries in NHL History

thesportster.com/hockey/top-15-greatest-nhl-rivalries-of-all-time/

The internet seems to think a rivalry exists.

 

[Mess]

Original 6 team match-ups are always extra special as they bring back childhood memories.

Toronto vs Montreal the 2 teams with the most Stanley Cups in their storied past dating back 100 years.

 

[Jimmy Firecracker]

If you pulled any random person off the street in either Toronto or Montreal and asked if the Leafs and Canadiens had a rivalry they’d tell you yes without hesitation, wouldn’t even have to be a hockey fan. Now they may not say it’s their biggest rivalry but the rivalry exists nonetheless. Saying it’s “insignificant” is asinine and is something only someone who wanted to stir the pot would say.

 

[Mikeyg]

Very simple game plan, we need to score 3 every game, and we'll get a dub.

 

[Trapper]

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!

I’d rather not lose at all however,

Leafs have never been to a 4th round of playoffs (now the finals) in the history of the team. There wasn’t 4 rounds back in 67.

So in expansion era, we’ve never even seen the finals. Let’s start by getting there and see what happens even without a great outcome. Cross one thing off the list at least.

 

[2 Slick]

It's fun seeing the media debate whether or not Toronto will start Andersen in the back-to-back 3rd and 4th game against Montreal.

No, they aren't. Andersen sucks, I'm sure management knows it if the whole world knows it.

 

[zeke]

@zeke

Curious to hear what your thoughts are on the Gallagher-Danault-Tatar line. By xG they are the best 5v5 team, but also in terms of just regular goals for %, they are the best in the league. They do lack finishing talent, but their ability to control play is extremely impressive. How worried should the Leafs be with them going head to head with the Matthews line and sawing off even or even winning that matchup?

They're magic together. An absolutely dominant line with some insane chemistry. Even better is that they do it in extreme tough usage against top matchups. The cliche "more than the sum of their parts" applies here perfectly.

2 caveats though:

1. They don't play legit 1st line minutes per game. This likely boosts their numbers a bit.

2. Their ridiculous performance the last few years has all come in Julien's fantastic possession system (also arguably a stats-boosting system). The whole team including those 3 guys has seen a big dip under Ducharme - though to be fair all 3 of those guys have missed a bunch of games to injury during that stretch too.


As for how they match up with the Matthews line? I'm not 100% but I'm pretty sure the Matthews line dominated that matchup all year.

 

[ViewsFromThe6ix]

They're magic together. An absolutely dominant line with some insane chemistry. Even better is that they do it in extreme tough usage against top matchups. The cliche "more than the sum of their parts" applies here perfectly.

2 caveats though:

1. They don't play legit 1st line minutes per game. This likely boosts their numbers a bit.

2. Their ridiculous performance the last few years has all come in Julien's fantastic possession system (also arguably a stats-boosting system). The whole team including those 3 guys has seen a big dip under Ducharme - though to be fair all 3 of those guys have missed a bunch of games to injury during that stretch too.


As for how they match up with the Matthews line? I'm not 100% but I'm pretty sure the Matthews line dominated that matchup all year.

Makes sense, as per the last part I read this:

There were only 15 players in the division who played at least 30 minutes at five-on-five with Matthews this season where the Leafs had an expected goal percentage of less than 50 percent (which is crazy). The Canadiens have five of them: Brendan Gallagher, Phillip Danault, Tomas Tatar, Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Weber.

Taken from here: How the Canadiens can beat the Maple Leafs: goaltending, depth and pushing the limits of physical play

That's one thing that's worrying for sure.

 

[zeke]

Makes sense, as per the last part I read this:

There were only 15 players in the division who played at least 30 minutes at five-on-five with Matthews this season where the Leafs had an expected goal percentage of less than 50 percent (which is crazy). The Canadiens have five of them: Brendan Gallagher, Phillip Danault, Tomas Tatar, Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Weber.

Taken from here: How the Canadiens can beat the Maple Leafs: goaltending, depth and pushing the limits of physical play

That's one thing that's worrying for sure.

To be honest I'm not sure his numbers are correct there. But I could be wrong.

But it is funny - all the talk about Habs depth all year and here I am screaming at them to play that one line way more.

 

[grapes55]

I think this is going to be fun! Despite the scars from past years im feeling confident in the Leafs and how they'll match up against the habs.

I'm not really a fan of how we're likely changing up the forward lines for game 1, especially taking out galch since I thought he's been playing well on the Tavares line. I actually wrote an article about the lines for the hell of it lol I'm not sure about the rules around promoting your own material so i'll link it if it's allowed.

Basically, even though i'm not the biggest fan of the lineup we will probably use, I think the Leafs take this series.

 

[aresknights]

That is the way it has always been done in the past. You go after our star player, we will return the favor in kind.

And how has that "always been done in the past" worked out for TO?
But to be fair that's not the way they have played the last 50 plus years. So no its not always been that way.

OK but it won't serve Toronto well if they try n play that way for 4 series
Play hard n heavy, sure, but your suggested type play is in the rear view mirror. Bobby Clarke style don't work no more.

 

[Cpt Maple Leaf]

And how has that "always been done in the past" worked out for TO?
But to be fair that's not the way they have played the last 50 plus years. So no its not always been that way.

OK but it won't serve Toronto well if they try n play that way for 4 series
Play hard n heavy, sure, but your suggested type play is in the rear view mirror. Bobby Clarke style don't work no more.

That was a Wendel quote from I believe the Canucks series, one of them, so yes, they did play like that and damn near went to the finals two years running.

Also, Boston and Washington say hello...

 

[Le Cobra]

I'm going to say Leafs in 6, but if this goes to game 7 I don't know if my heart can take it!

prepare the epi pen, this is the Toronto Maple Leafs we are talking about. They go up in a game/series they tend to sit on their laurels and let the other team have the chance to stage a comeback and they usually do lol

but when we get beat and are trailing we mount some of the best comebacks in NHL history - flair for the dramatic i suppose

 

[Le Cobra]

Optimistic, but don't think the Habs are a slouch with their full roster.

right. its not the best team on paper that wins, its the one with the most heart, guts, grit, and teamwork that moves on to victory. This has been our biggest problem in the last 4 years.

 

[Le Cobra]

They were 16-4-4 with Galchenyuk in the lineup playing top 6 minutes. I like Nash in principle but holy f*** do I get nervous with last minute tinkering. This team was absolutely dominant; is a significant lineup change worth it without proven merit? Just get those flashbacks to the play in when Keefe put in a rusty and offensively challenged Johnnson over Robertson and then the team gets shut out. Don’t f*** with chemistry.

do you remember what Nash did to us last year? Why WOULDNT you want him to do the same except FOR US against MTL?

 

[Le Cobra]

There is no Habs Leafs rivalry. We haven't met in the playoff in over 40 years. It's like Vancouver and Winnipeg fans thinking there is some sort of rivalry with us. The Habs rival is the Bruins. We don't really have one any more as the 6 team league doesn't count.

There was a rivalry between the Jays and Expos even though they only met each other a handful of times

 

[Le Cobra]

I'd be more excited if the Leafs' have had some playoff success in recent memory but my desire want to see them win a damn series and go on a run trumps who they're playing.

They're definitely favourites against the Habs but even with the Habs sputtering, they have some players that can be playoff PITA's. A series loss here would probably hurt the most out of any we've had in the last 5 years.

what is a PITA? you mean the flat bread?

 

[Le Cobra]

Let's hope marner is engaged the first game

his fangirls will be disappointed

 

[Le Cobra]

Don’t care if it’s a back to back, you play Campbell in both.

I don’t think it’s that much to ask really. People make such a huge deal out of a goalie playing two games in a row. I mean c’mon, these guys are pros. They can handle it

I played 5 games as a rental goalie...in ONE day

 

[Le Cobra]

Leafs past playoff failures in all honesty are a bit overblown, and one of the bigger reasons for those failures will be on the bench this time around(Andersen).

Teams get to stuck on the Leafs not being able to win a round, that Caps team and those back to back Bruins teams are some of the hardest draws you can get in round 1, that's why I'm not as impressed with these teams that make it to round 2 or 3 but faced a team like Arizona or Vancouver to get there lol.

Last year was different, the Leafs were slight favourites against the Jackets but it was just such a weird year, playing a playoff game after a 5 month layoff, and only a 5 game series at that.

In reality, if the Leafs played the way they played in the last few playoffs, they'd mop the floor with this current Habs teams, the Leafs playoff performances have actually been quite strong outside of goaltending.

BUT, hockey is never that simple, obviously. Habs can totally win this series but it would be a big upset.

damn man, best post i have read all day. Underrated!

 

[Le Cobra]

He's just being ridiculous. I'd feel better had we beaten CLB last season than I do now no matter what happened after that. Same goes for the year before against Boston. And the year before that. And the year before that. And the last time before that in the playoffs where we collapsed in the third against Boston, I'd have felt a LOT better had not pissed that game away and won the series instead.

I'll go out on a limb and say 99.99% of sports fans agree with me, winning feels better than losing.

If we didnt lose to CBJ last year, then NO Foligno and NO Nash on the Leafs

 

[JayfromNB1219]

Man o man these main board leafs “ fans” are something else it seems... I don’t think I’ve had a Habs fan push back on me as hard as these people have...Gallagher just straight better than Hyman not even close Iike bro who are you cheering for again.

 

[crump]

I don’t think it will take long for the rivalry to rekindle. These things are deep seated. I think it’s going to be fun watching a new generation become overwhelmed with the passion and excitement this series is going to bring. Buckle up.

 

[aresknights]

That was a Wendel quote from I believe the Canucks series, one of them, so yes, they did play like that and damn near went to the finals two years running.

Also, Boston and Washington say hello...

Wendel was a fantastic player. Look up the Bure bench convo. Wendel played a perfect style for that Era.
But that was 30 years ago and "almost" worked. Games different now. And TO isn't built to play that way. Nor aether like Boston WAS. JMO but they are better served playing a hard, skilled game and staying away from trying to slash players.
Take the PP n bury it.
Agree to disagree.