Prominent NHL Insider reveals why he likes the Leafs over the Bruins
Elliotte Friedman discussed why he believes the Toronto Maple Leafs have a favourable matchup against the Boston Bruins on the latest '32 Thoughts' podcast.
The Maple Leafs and Bruins will face off in the first round again in this year's Stanley Cup Playoffs in what many Leaf fans believe will be a much better experience than their 2013 first round series, 2018 first round series and 2019 first round series, where the Bruins dispatched the Leafs each time.
Heading into Game 1 on Saturday, the Leafs are limping into the playoffs losers of four straight games and dealing with a handful of injuries, while the Bruins have lost three of their last four, including their final two games of the regular season. On the latest episode of '32 Thoughts', Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek discussed the opening round series where Friedman mentioned that many of his friends in Toronto believe the Bruins purposely lost their last two games to play the Leafs instead of the Tampa Bay Lightning. He also discussed why he believes the Leafs are better suited for a series against the Bruins instead of the Panthers.
Where does Friedman believe the Leafs will struggle and succeed in the series?
To begin the series breakdown, Friedman discussed where the Leafs ran into trouble against the Bruins this season leading them to go 0-2-2 in the season series.
He isn't wrong in stating that Pastrnak tortures the Leafs. In 28 regular season games in his career, he has 19 goals and 36 points against the blue and white. He also has 19 points in 14 playoff games versus the Leafs.
Further into their discussion about the series, Friedman believes that the Leafs will be able to "out Bruin the Bruins" physically, thanks to the additions that GM Brad Treliving has made since taking over for Kyle Dubas. He also explained the Leafs' thought process in having Martin Jones play in their season finale Wednesday night instead of Samsonov.
In their playoff careers, we have yet to see Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner or William Nylander really show up when it matters in elimination games, although they have been consistent and produced in the playoffs. The production has not come at times when it is needed most and they are criticized for it. Maybe this is the year we finally see Matthews go "beast mode" in a series, or Marner finally shake the yips he has shown in the past. The Leafs have the ability to outscore their opponents at will, but as former Bruins coach Claude Julien said, they will have to commit to playing a tougher game. On top of the stars performing, Treliving brought in Domi and Bertuzzi for the exact reason Julien mentioned. Both thrive in those dirty areas and types of games and the hope is that they will take some of the pressure off of the Leafs' stars.
As Friedman touched on, the Leafs will need Samsonov to revert to the form he had when he first returned from his stint away from the team in January, which is why he believes the Leafs chose to keep him away from game action the final week of the season. If he can return to form and the Leafs get the timely scoring they have needed in the playoffs for years, there is no reason that they can't get past the first round for the second year in a row.
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 19 | 513 ANSWERS Prominent NHL Insider reveals why he likes the Leafs over the Bruins Who do you think will finish the playoffs in net for the Maple Leafs? | ||
| Joseph Woll | 187 | 36.5 % |
| Ilya Samsonov | 250 | 48.7 % |
| Martin Jones | 34 | 6.6 % |
| Matt Murray | 42 | 8.2 % |
| List of polls | ||
