The Bruins have a real challenge ahead of them against the Maple Leafs.
The Bruins have a real challenge ahead of them against the Maple Leafs.
After losing on Tuesday against the Ottawa Senators, the Boston Bruins dropped to second in the Atlantic Division. Because of this, instead of playing the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Bruins will face off against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round of the playoffs.
The Bruins and Maple Leafs are far from strangers, as they have played in the first round three times since 2013. In each series, the Bruins defeated the Maple Leafs in dramatic Game 7s. However, their most recent series win against the Maple Leafs was all the way back in 2019, when Zdeno Chara, Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, and Tuukka Rask ran the show.
Some fans may automatically feel confident about the Bruins' chances due to their past playoff success against the Maple Leafs. The Bruins also swept their season series with the Maple Leafs this season, which may add more fuel to the fire.
However, while Boston has certainly had plenty of success against Toronto, both in the past and this season, it does not mean much at this juncture of the year. The playoffs offer an entirely clean slate, and the Bruins learned last year that anything can happen in the postseason.
The Bruins are also entering the postseason with some significant red flags. They lost three out of their final four regular-season games, and their offense has been far from impressive. With that, it's natural to wonder how this team will match up against a deep Maple Leafs offense in the playoffs without Bergeron and Krejci as their top two centers.
Ultimately, this series is once again looking like it could be a close one. The Bruins have the goaltending and defense, while Toronto has the superior offense. It will be fun to see how things play out this time around.
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