The Bruins and Maple Leafs will meet in a playoff series for the first since 2019.
The Bruins and Maple Leafs will meet in a playoff series for the first since 2019.
SUNRISE, Fla. — The Toronto Maple Leafs still have a game left to play in the regular season. But now they know they'll be heading north when that game is over.
The Maple Leafs fell to the Florida Panthers 5-2 at Amerant Bank Arena on Tuesday and will meet the Boston Bruins in the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
"It'll be a real challenge but real special to play in that," Maple Leafs captain John Tavares said after the game an Original Six (team) has got a lot of history to it. Great opportunity for us so we know it'll be a real test and we have to be prepared."
The Maple Leafs went into the evening with a better chance of meeting the Panthers in the first round Toronto looked sharp in the opening period, jumping out to a 2-0 lead. But everything came undone in the second period. The Leafs allowed 29 shots on goal to Florida with four of them resulting in goals for the Panthers.
The Leafs head into their final regular season game on Wednesday against the Tampa Bay Lightning on a three-game losing streak, their longest since a season-high four-game losing streak in January. Toronto's focus for their final game?
"Just cleaning up the areas of our game that caused problems tonight," Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly said. "We just want to feel good going into the first round."
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beb-CbuIGvc[/embed]
Rielly and Tavares joined Auston Matthews, William Nylander and Mitch Marner as the only Leafs who took part in the club's last playoff series against the Bruins back in 2019. The Leafs fell in seven games to their division rivals.
On the Boston side, Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak, Jake DeBrusk Danton Heinin Pasternak and Brandon Carlo were part of that series. Trent Frederic, was on the Bruins that season as a rookie, but did not play in the postseason.
James van Riemsdyk, who twice played for the Maple Leafs in a playoff series against the Bruins in 2013 and 2018, will get to take part on the other side of the rivalry for the first time.
The Maple Leafs were 0-2-2 in the series including a pair of 4-1 losses back in March. In those games, Joseph Woll made his second and third starts since returning from a high-ankle injury that kept him sidelined for nearly three months. He did not fare well, allowing a combined eight goals on 52 shots.
"They play a playoff game year-round, so they're a hard team to play against and they have some big bodies, so maybe a bit different look than Florida," Woll said. "But we'll be ready."
There was also bad blood earlier in the season between the two teams. On Nov. 2, Marchand tripped Timothy Liljegren into the corner boards, injuring the Leafs defenseman. Nobody on the Leafs retaliated in that game as Marchand began to yell at the Leafs bench.
That became a turning point as many Leafs were more physical later in the season. Max Domi, Tyler Bertuzzi and Ryan Reaves, all new to the club this season, have come into their own down the stretch and could be an X-factor in matching Boston's intensity.
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