Traik-eotomy
Habs are a much tougher opponent than some Toronto fans want to admit ... There are several scenarios in which Leafs and Bruins end up playing for Cup ... Pressure on Avs goalie Grubauer to prove he isn't weak link ... Eichel for Kuznetsov would be good trade
If it felt like the NHL season was split into two different leagues this year — one in the U.S. and one in Canada — having Boston and Washington play Game 1 of the playoffs on the same day that Edmonton and Vancouver will be playing an otherwise meaningless regular-season game probably won't change that.
It's an odd move by the NHL schedule-makers.
Call me old fashioned, but is it too much to ask that the regular season ends before the playoffs begin?
Then again, for most hockey fans the Bruins-Capitals is nothing more than the opening act. The playoffs won't really begin until a week from now, when the Toronto Maple Leafs play the Montreal Canadiens in Game 1 of the North Division semifinal.
This is the matchup fans have been waiting for since 1979. It's the investment that Rogers Sportsnet spent more than $5 billion on. And with apologies to the Oilers and Jets, who begin the playoffs, it's the most-hyped series of the first round.
The question is, will it live up to the hype?
I don't think it will go seven games. But I'm expecting a tough series — tougher than most Toronto fans probably want to admit.
For the first time in the past five years — and, no, last year's play-in against Columbus doesn't count — the Leafs will be the favourites. They will have all the pressure. Everyone expects them to win the North Division and go all the way and win a Stanley Cup. Anything less will be considered a disappointment.
But first they need to get past the Habs. And they need to get over the first-round hump that has tripped them up so many times. In many ways, this could be their greatest challenge.
I'm not expecting a sweep. I'd be surprised if it went less than six games.
There's something scary about a Montreal team that has this much youth and this much to prove. Anyone who saw the Habs upset the Penguins in the play-in round last year knows that it wasn't just Carey Price who stole the series.
It was Montreal's me-against-the world mentality. It was Nick Suzuki playing like he was the second coming of Patrice Bergeron and Jesperi Kotkaniemi finally showing why he was selected ahead of Brady Tkachuk in the 2018 draft. It was Brendan Gallagher being Brendan Gallagher and Shea Weber being Shea Weber.
Now, the Habs also have Tyler Toffoli, Josh Anderson and Joel Edmundson, as well as Corey Perry and Cole Caufield. They are not as deep or as top-end talented as the Leafs — especially with Price, Gallagher and Jonathan Drouin's status for Game 1 remaining unclear — but they are not pushovers. That being said, I'm picking the Leafs in six games. And my fingers are crossed that Edmonton gets past Winnipeg so we can see Auston Matthews versus Connor McDavid in the second round.
Now, that will be a matchup worth all the hype in the world.
TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT
ESPN's Greg Wyshynski tweeted “there are several possible scenarios through which the Leafs and Bruins end up playing for the Stanley Cup.” There are also several possible scenarios that it