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Toronto Maple Leafs: Round 1 Eastern Conference NHL Playoff Predictions

By James Tanner

Nov 21, 2021; Elmont, New York, USA; Toronto Maple Leafs right wing Mitchell Marner (16) talks with Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews (34) during the first period against New York Islanders at UBS Arena. Mandatory Credit: Tom Horak-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 21, 2021; Elmont, New York, USA; Toronto Maple Leafs right wing Mitchell Marner (16) talks with Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews (34) during the first period against New York Islanders at UBS Arena. Mandatory Credit: Tom Horak-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jeremy Swayman
Feb 15, 2022; New York, New York, USA; Boston Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman (1)  Mandatory Credit: Dennis Schneidler-USA TODAY Sports /

Carolina Hurricanes vs Boston Bruins

The Hurricanes signed Freddy Andersen off of the Toronto Maple Leafs last summer, essentially  trading him for Petr Mrazek, and few roster decisions ever work out so wonderfully.

Andersen had a career year and Petr Mrazek is no longer even guaranteed an NHL job.

But how does Andersen usually play in the playoffs?  As a Leafs fan, I can’t help but thinking now that he’s in a different uniform, he will probably win the Conn Smyth award, but realistically he will probably choke.

That’s if he plays.

Andersen missed the final six games of the Carolina schedule and is a question mark for game one.

Boston, on the other hand, isn’t your typical seventh place, Wild Card team.

For a while, it looked like the Bruins would miss the playoffs. They had great team stats, and were actually ranked as the NHL’s best 5v5 team, but they were behind Detroit and ranked 16th by points percentage.

Due to their stats, a reversal of fortune was easily predictable, and it happened as expected.  But they were already so far back that they couldn’t climb any higher than the wild card.

In the first half of the season Boston was ranked 16th, and in their last 40 games, 5th.  It doesn’t matter at all that Carolina beat them so badly in the regular season, every team can beat any team and it won’t have any bearing on the this series.

Boston is the better team when you account for the goaltending Carolina’s record is based on, but which they likely won’t get in this series.

The Bruins remain the NHL’s best 5v5 team and will beat Carolina in six games.

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