Maple Leafs will meet Bruins in the first round
Bring on the Boston Bruins.
For the 17th time in franchise history, the Toronto Maple Leafs will meet the Bruins, one of their Original Six rivals, in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
That became the reality on Tuesday night when the Leafs lost 5-2 to the Florida Panthers at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, a final result that came about a half-hour after the Bruins lost 3-1 at home against the Ottawa Senators.
The Panthers' win and Bruins' loss enabled Florida to finish the 2023-24 regular season one point ahead of Boston (110-109) and win the Atlantic Division title.
The Leafs and Bruins will clash in the playoffs for the first time since 2019. Boston has beaten Toronto in the past six post-season meetings, with the Leafs’ most recent win coming in 1959.
During this regular season, the Leafs were 0-2-2 in four games against the Bruins.
Never mind that, though. While the Leafs will be the underdog going in, the Bruins should be seen as the preferred opponent, though the players would never acknowledge as much. Boston is strong defensively, but Florida is better. There’s no equivalent of Aleksander Barkov on the Bruins roster, and while winger David Pastrnak will be a handful, the Leafs should have the advantage up the middle.
Goalie Ilya Samsonov will have to be at the top of his game to outperform Jeremy Swayman or Linus Ullmark. Neither, though, has the experience that Sergei Bobrovsky would have brought against the Leafs.
The Bruins’ defence corps is solid. Whether it was the Bruins or the Panthers, the Leafs were going to have the weaker group.
The Leafs’ success will come down to how Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander perform and produce collectively.
“It will be a real challenge,” Leafs captain John Tavares told media in Florida after the game. “Real special playing an Original Six (team) that has a lot of history to it. Great opportunity for us and we know it will be real test and we’ll have to be prepared.”
The best-of-seven first round is expected to start on Saturday, with the first two games in Boston before Games 3 and 4 are contested in Toronto.
GAME ON
Marner has been sharp since returning from a sprained ankle and has a point in each of his six games since coming back. Marner’s enthusiasm always has been on par with his talent, so it’s not really a surprise that he will head into the playoffs on a high. A Marner shot was tipped by Tavares for a 1-0 Leafs lead, the fourth game in a row that Toronto scored first. The goal originally was credited to Marner … Nice to see Noah Gregor score for the first time in 34 games, but it’s unlikely to keep him in the lineup to start first round. If Max Domi is back for Game 1, as is the expectation, Gregor presumably would be the odd man out.
And certainly Gregor would be out if Bobby Mcmann is back as well. More often than not, Gregor — who had not scored since Dec. 16 before beating a screened Anthony Stolarz to give the Leafs a 2-0 lead in the first — has been a healthy scratch since midfebruary … Nylander went into the final game against Tampa Bay with no goals and three assists in his past 10 games. There’s no way to put a positive spin on that lack of production for a player who is usually one of the Leafs’ top offensive threats.