Leafs/Bolts round one schedule released
The Toronto Maple Leafs enjoyed a very successful 2021-22 regular season, setting new franchise records in both wins (54) and points (115) and finishing 4th in the overall NHL standings and 2nd in the Atlantic Division. In terms of what the expectations of this team were prior to the start of the season, I think it's safe to say that the Leafs exceeded them, fighting their way to home ice in round one in the ultra top-heavy Atlantic Division.
Now the attention will turn to the playoffs and, boy oh boy, do the Leafs ever have a tough out in round one. With their win over the Boston Bruins on Friday, the Leafs have locked in a meeting with the two-time defending Stanley Cup Champion Tampa Bay Lightning.
These two teams are not dissimilar, in that they both forecheck hard, play a skilled game up front and defend well. Obviously, the Bolts hold a distinct advantage in goal with Andrei Vasilevskiy. Surprisingly, the Leafs hold the advantage in the special teams department, but then again, I'm not sure we should rush to carry over any regular season success as it does not always translate to playoff success.
On Saturday, the Leafs/Lightning playoff schedule was released and will play out as follows:
G1: Monday, May 2nd in Toronto
G2: Wednesday, May 4th in Toronto
G3: Friday, May 6th in Tampa
G4: Sunday, May 8th in Tampa
*G5: Tuesday, May 10th in Toronto
*G6: Thursday, May 12th in Tampa
*G7: Saturday, May 14th in Toronto
The true test begins on Monday night at home. Can the Leafs knock off the defending champs? If they can, I'd imagine that, from an optics perspective, they'll dispatch of any accusations that they're playoff pretenders and move to legit contenders status.
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 30 | 576 ANSWERS Leafs/Bolts round one schedule released How many games with the Leafs/Lightning series go? | ||
| 4 | 23 | 4 % |
| 5 | 66 | 11.5 % |
| 6 | 310 | 53.8 % |
| 7 | 177 | 30.7 % |
| List of polls | ||
