Toronto Maple Leafs: Let’s Hope For a 1st Round Series vs Boston

The Toronto Maple Leafs should hope to play the Bruins in the playoffs this year.

I think nothing would benefit the Toronto Maple Leafs more, than to face-off against the big-nosed Bruins again in the first round. The thought honestly thrills me as much as it terrifies me, but that’s a good thing.

As terrifying as the prospect may be, I believe a first round matchup against the Bruins would benefit the Leafs more than any other matchup.

Obviously, a team as good as the Toronto Maple Leafs should get an easier first round matchup, but since there is nothing we can do about the NHL’s stupid playoff seeding format, we might as well embrace it.

Leafs vs Bruins 3.0

First, there is the mental part of it. Twice in the past few years, Toronto has held their own against Boston only to cough up leads in two game sevens. This has triggered instant Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in those who didn’t already have it from watching the Toronto Maple Leafs all these years.

Second, if and when Toronto finally dismantle the Bruins in the playoffs, the monkey would be off their back. Finally, King Kong would be no more. It’s tough to think of a team that has historically given the Leafs a tougher time in the past ten years.

This leads me to believe they would coast right to the Stanley Cup Final on adrenaline alone from finally putting the Bruins to bed.

Third, if Toronto were to beat Boston, it would also put to bed much of the talk that they are not tough enough, or that they need more grit. I’m all for sticking up for your teammates, and I love a big hit in a close game as much as the next guy, but Wayne Simmonds is not gonna get the Leafs to the Stanley Cup. He may not hurt the team (but he might) and he isn’t going to put them over the top.

The Leafs weapon is their power play and the fact that they don’t take many penalties. There is no reason to disrupt this to fit some image of a game that no longer exists.  Beating the Bruins would put this tired narrative to rest.

How to Win

There are some things I believe would need to happen for the Leafs to win this playoff round: Andersen needs to be at the top of his game, and Matthews needs to score some goals.

Last year, that didn’t happen, and the Leafs still almost won.

Freddy has to play like mid-season Freddy. When Andersen is at his best, so is everybody else.

Auston Matthews needs to score some goals, this will draw more tough assignments towards him so that the Tavares and Kadri lines can wreak havoc on the Bruins lesser lines.

Finally, mental toughness will be key for the Toronto Maple Leafs to be able to defeat the Boston Bruins.  They just need to put the past defeats behind them and embrace the fact that they are the superior team.

The Leafs should want to play the Bruins. It might seem like a crazy idea, but I think it’s the best thing for the team in the long run.