Toronto Maple Leafs: Game One Tonight

Tonight, the Toronto Maple Leafs will take on the Boston Bruins in game one at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.

As mentioned in our round one series preview, the last time the Toronto Maple Leafs faced the Bruins in the playoff it didn’t end well.

It’s time for the Toronto Maple Leafs to prove to the rest of Canada, the United States and the globe that they are prime for a long Stanley Cup run. In order to show the world that they are capable of great things, they need to start the series on a positive note.

Toronto Maple Leafs Updates

For game one, Mike Babcock has opted to stick with his normal offensive and defensive lines, per a report from TSN’s Kristen Shilton.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have decided to scratch Josh Leivo, Matt Martin, Dominic Moore, Andreas Johnsson and Connor Carrick. All of the Maple Leafs’ scratches are healthy. It may make more sense for Roman Polak and Leo Komarov to be in the lineup, as  Komarov provides the Maple Leafs with a solid defensive winger, while Polak gives the Maple Leafs physicality to counter-act the heavy hitting Boston Bruins.   Many would disagree, but Babcock is the one who gets to decide.

Boston Bruins Updates

Let’s jump to the Boston Bruins.

Yesterday, Bruce Cassidy, the head coach of the Bruins announced that Riley Nash will need be on the ice in game one. On March 31st in a game against the Florida Panthers, Nash took a shot to his ear. He required 40 stitches inside and outside of his ear, per a report from Joe Haggerty of NBC Sports Boston.

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Instead, Noel Acciari will take Nash’s spot in the lineup. Acciari is a local New Englander and has proved to be a solid defensive forward for the Bruins. In 60 games this season, he had 152 hits, 41 blocks and 20 take-aways.

Additionally, Cassidy announced that Adam McQuaid, Rick Nash and Sean Kuraly will be in the lineup tonight against the Maple Leafs. McQuaid gives the Bruins a ton of physicality in the defensive zone.

While Nash and Kuraly give the Bruins offensive depth. Kuraly is a solid bottom six centre for the Bruins and Nash when healthy can be lethal if he has the puck in his hand. Even though Nash’ offensive success has fallen of course, he still is a threat. In 77 career playoff games, Nash has registered 15 goals and 26 assists.

Prediction & Notes

The Toronto Maple Leafs have a tough competitor in round one. If the Maple Leafs can stay out of the box and continue their success on the power-play, they should be able to grab a victory on the road in New England.

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My prediction is that the Maple Leafs will defeat the Bruins by a score of 5-4.

Puck drop will be at approximately at 7:05 pm EST. The game can be viewed on NBC Sportsnet in the United States, NESN in New England and CBC across Canada.

stats from NHL.com and hockey-reference.com