3 Reasons Why Montreal Could Upset the Toronto Maple Leafs
Could the Montreal Canadiens shock the world and upset the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round?
That’s the last thing we want to think about as Toronto Maple Leafs fans, but the Montreal Canadiens did it to the Pittsburgh Penguins last year, so why can’t they do it again?
The rivalry between the Habs and Leafs is 104 years old, dating back to 1917. Although they’ve had a number of classic games in recent memory, they haven’t played a playoff game since 1979.
Toronto and Montreal played in different conferences from 1981 to 1998, so it’s easy to see why they never played during that timeframe. However, the dream Stanley Cup Final matchup almost happened in 1993 but Kerry Fraser Wayne Gretzky unfortunately denied that from happening.
Having played in the same division since 1998, it’s surprising that it’s taken 23 years for them to finally match up. Although it would be way better if they could play in front of a full building, it’s at least happening, which is a positive sign.
Toronto is the heavy favorite and it makes sense why. They have the superior team from top-to-bottom and have a lot more firepower than Montreal. The Leafs core-four should be able to dominate and outscore them more often than not.
Although the Leafs are favorited, we’ve seen the superior team falter before. Tampa Bay lost to Columbus a few years ago and Montreal played spoiler as recent as last year to Pittsburgh.
Playoff hockey is completely different than the regular season, so anything can happen in a seven-game series. As much as we’d hate to see it, as Toronto Maple Leafs fans, here are three reasons why the Montreal Canadiens could upset them in the first round.
No. 1: Carey Price
Personally, I think Carey Price is a little overrated and there’s no reason to believe that he’ll, all of a sudden, be the Hart Trophy winner that he once was, when the playoffs start.
However, after a five-month layoff between games last year, he stole the show and helped the Habs beat the Penguins in the ‘play-in’ games. As a result, it’s easy to talk yourself into thinking it’ll happen again.
Why is that date important you ask? Well, that was the last day where Carey Price allowed four or more goals in a playoff game. Since that game, Price has gone 20 consecutive playoffs games without allowing four or more goals.
If you’re a Leafs fan, that should scare the crap out of you.
Price’s regular season numbers haven’t been that good for a while, but he always seems to play well in the playoffs. If Price replicates his stats and Montreal is able to get past an inexperienced Jack Campbell, they could squeeze out a few more wins than expected.
No. 2: Special Teams
The Toronto Maple Leafs have two of the most gifted offensive players in the NHL. Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner are Toronto’s Batman and Robin and can do magic on the powerplay.
Well, they used to.
For whatever reason, the powerplay has ran cold for the past two months and they haven’t been able to get it going. Good news is that everything resets in the playoffs, but bad news is that special teams is one of the most important parts of a playoff series.
Besides a huge effort from your goaltender, the powerplay can make or break a series.
Toronto finished the year with a 20% powerplay, which was 16th in the NHL. That’s not terrible, but it should be their biggest strength. Over the past few seasons, they’ve consistently ranked in the top-eight, so they need to improve when the playoffs start.
The Canadiens powerplay is a little worse than Toronto’s, but all they have to do is win the special teams battle.
If Montreal’s big defensive pairing of Shea Weber and Jeff Petry can kill penalties, followed by Tyler Toffoli scoring on the powerplay, that could be the difference-maker in a seven game series. Match that with a solid performance by Carey Price and the Leafs could be in trouble.
No. 3: Physicality
The Toronto Maple Leafs added size and physicality this year, but it’s hard to say if it’ll be enough to match Montreal’s.
If you look at the Canadiens roster, they’re built for a long grueling playoff series. Their defensive core is filled with monsters and they have two pests up front.
Corey Perry and Brendan Gallagher are two guys you want on your team, but hate to play against. They can score, but they can also get under your skin. Perry showed that he still had some juice left in the tank during the Dallas Stars Stanley Cup run last year, so it’ll be interesting to see if that same player shows up for Montreal.
Joel Edmundson, Shea Weber, Jeff Petry and Ben Chiarot are four defenseman that are very tough to battle against in the corner, or in front of the net. They’re huge players that aren’t afraid to play with an edge, and will get away with more pain in the playoffs.
If Montreal uses their physicality and knocks Toronto around, it may be too much for them to handle. Not too mention that these hits could lead to injuries that will slow the Leafs down.
Toronto should be able to combat this and make it past the Habs in the first round, but crazier things have happened.
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Let’s hope none of it is true and the Toronto Maple Leafs win the series, but be prepared for a harder matchup than it should be.