Toronto Maple Leafs Game 7: Just Have Fun Watching

UNIONDALE, NY - FEBRUARY 26: Toronto Maple Leafs Center John Tavares (91) sets up in front of New York Islanders Goalie Robin Lehner (40) during a game between the New York Islanders and the Calgary Flames on February 26, 2019 at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, NY. (Photo by John McCreary/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
UNIONDALE, NY - FEBRUARY 26: Toronto Maple Leafs Center John Tavares (91) sets up in front of New York Islanders Goalie Robin Lehner (40) during a game between the New York Islanders and the Calgary Flames on February 26, 2019 at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, NY. (Photo by John McCreary/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins will play Game 7 tonight in Boston.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have lost in two game sevens to the Bruins in recent times. (2013, 2011). But this time is different.

The reason this time is different is because the Leafs are not the massive underdogs they were in both series.

Vegas is favoring the Bruins, but the Leafs have a better roster on paper and are the deeper team. They’ve also been the better 5v5 team this series, and have gotten the best goaltending.

Plus out boys Tavares and Marner are due.

So there’s plenty of reason to be optimistic……..but everyone is nervous.

Game Seven!

If you’ve spent any time interacting with Leafs fans on twitter in the last 24 hours, you may have encountered a lot of nervous, pessimistic, seemingly neurotic Leafs fans who can’t take the stress.

Who are resigned to a loss.

Who are wound so tight that they’ll never be able to enjoy the game.

So I am just here to say relax.

Win or lose, the Leafs have a great team with a great future. The playoffs are the best part of the NHL and a game seven is the best part of the playoffs.

The fact that we get to watch a game seven tonight, with everything on the line, is a treat.  It’s basically the best thing that the NHL has to offer.

So enjoy it, and do so knowing that even if the Leafs go down in flames, they’ve got the best roster in the NHL, or close to it, and the majority of their team consists of home-grown stars or future-stars in their early twenties.

Auston Matthews is only in his third year, and he hasn’t hit his prime yet.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have another six seasons of John Tavares.

Tavares, I might add has only been to the second round once in his career, and he hasn’t scored in a while, so you know he’s going to have a great game, and he’s due.

The Leafs might win, and they might not, but either way they’ve given us a great season and the promise of many more.   This is the best team the Leafs have offered up since the 70s and whatever happens, this will still go down as one of the best seasons they’ve had in 40 years.

Sure, that says more about how crappy it’s been to be a Leafs fan than anything else, but it’s still true.  So enjoy it.

It’s going to be intense, but that’s the whole reason you watch hockey in the first place, right?