Toronto Maple Leafs Are Going To Get Swept By Boston Bruins

The Toronto Maple Leafs will face the Boston Bruins in the First Round of the playoffs, and it's unfortunately not going to be pretty.

For the fourth time since 2013, the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs will meet in the playoffs and it'll once again be the same result for the Bruins, except the series will end a little quicker. Whether it was the Florida Panthers or Bruins, the Leafs were going to be battled-tested in the First Round, but I don't like their chances.

In four match-up's this year, the Bruins went 4-0, scoring an average of 3.75 goals per game, while allowing 1.75 goals against. The Leafs biggest strength this year was their offense, but when they faced the Bruins, they couldn't score. In those four games, Auston Matthews was productive, finishing with three goals and one assist, but him and the rest of the team will have to be much better if this team has any chance to win (spoiler alert: they don't).

When you look at this Leafs roster, do they really seem like a team that will go far in the playoffs? Their goaltending finished the year with the 10th worst save percentage (.899 SV%), and wasn't much better in goals against, finishing the year in 20th place, allowing 3.15 goals per game. As we've said before, their offense was great, as they finished second in the league in goals per game, but stopping pucks matters more in the playoffs than scoring.

Toronto Maple Leafs Versus Boston Bruins Series Will Be Ugly

When the playoffs start, scoring tends to go down. If scoring goes down, then how can Toronto keep up with Boston's amazing goaltending and solid defensive group? How do they have any chance at going into TD Garden and defeating a team that kills them every time they play in the playoffs?

Remember when the Leafs and Ottawa Senators battled it out so many times in the playoffs during the early 2000s? Regardless of what happened in the regular season, Toronto had Ottawa's number and that's exactly what Boston has with Toronto. Boston is unfortunately just one of those organization's that will have the Leafs number, at least until Brad Marchand retires.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but until the Leafs change their approach and go away from a team soley focused on offense, without any true number-one defenseman on the roster, then they won't win the playoffs. You can win in the playoffs when you have mediocre goaltending or a below-average defensive group, but you can't win when you have both.

This roster has been compared to the 2016-17 Pittsburgh Penguins, which is so unfair, because although Matt Murray is technically on Toronto's roster, they don't have the same Murray who was the best goalie in the world for two months, or a veteran back-up in Marc-Andre Fleury, who helped secure a few victories himself. Also, as great as Matthews is, he's not Sidney Crosby.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are good, which is why they made the the playoffs, but they're not great. Get your broom's ready because this series could be a sweep.