After a strong start and disappointing finish in their 5-2 loss to the Florida Panthers in the second last game of the regular season, the Toronto Maple Leafs finally know their opponent in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. And it’s not one that has been kind to them in the past.
For the third time since 2017-18, the Maple Leafs will face the Boston Bruins in the first round. In any other season, it would be a situation where you would get ready for your opponent and dig deep to play against a tenacious and tough team. However, the Bruins have had the Maple Leafs’ number in every single meeting in the postseason.
From the 2013 4-1 collapse to the back-to-back losses in 2017-18 and 2018-19, the Maple Leafs need to figure out how they’re going to play against the Bruins. Are they going to put forth their best effort and show some fight like they have this season? Or will they get into their bad habits like they have against them and other top contenders this season. Here are 3 keys for the Maple Leafs against the Bruins.
Flip the Script: Take 4
After they’ve faced disappointment at the hands of their divisional rivals, it’s safe to say that Maple Leafs should go in motivated and wanting to flip the script. Even their play in the regular season should be a big reason why they should be ready after they were swept losing all four games.
The Maple Leafs kept things close in their first two meetings– a 3-2 and 4-3 loss coming in overtime– but the Maple Leafs were their own worst enemy in their last two games, making costly mistakes and ended up losing a combined score of 8-2. They went 1-for-8 on the power play in those two games and only had one power play goal in the season series. According to Natural Stat Trick their scoring chances for at five-on-five were above 50% in two of the four games and they only had one good game where their expected goals was at 55.80%.
The numbers show that it was somewhat close, but the eye test shows that the Maple Leafs have a lot to work on, ahead of their series. The Maple Leafs know how they play and they even said that they need to be prepared for what’s in store.
“It will be a real challenge,” captain John Tavares said according to TSN. “It’s a test and we have to be prepared.”
“We need to get ready by cleaning up some stuff and then we will shift our focus,” said Mitch Marner.
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The Maple Leafs didn’t fare well in the regular season, but now that means nothing as it’s in the past. We saw how quick the Bruins can unravel in the postseason as their collapse in 2023 showed against the Panthers. The Maple Leafs’ mentality and mindset needs to be there as they need to be dialled in from the beginning of the series. They need to be hungry, ready and desperate to try and re-write history.
Core Players & Defense Have to Step Up
All eyes will be on the core five once again as they try to be at the forefront of a playoff round consistently. We have yet to see them be on the same page in the postseason as it’s always one player standing above the rest. There needs to be that collective group effort and they need to show it now.
You could make the case that their series against the Lightning was the best we’ve seen, but against the Bruins it’s hit or miss. Here’s a breakdown of the team’s point production in their last two playoff series against the Bruins.
| GP, Pts | Points per Game | |
| Mitch Marner | 14 GP, 13 Pts | 0.93 |
| Morgan Rielly | 14 GP, 10 Pts | 0.71 |
| Auston Matthews | 14 GP, 8 Pts | 0.57 |
| William Nylander | 14 GP, 7 Pts | 0.50 |
| John Tavares | 7 GP, 5 Pts | 0.71 |
John Tavares has only played in one series, but Mitch Marner, Auston Matthews, William Nylander and Morgan Rielly know exactly how things played out. Marner is the most productive against the Bruins and both Matthews and Nylander have been average. Matthews has three goals and four points and the core four forwards are top four in scoring against the Bruins this season, though Tavares and Nylander have two in four games. Now, it’s time for everyone to step up and deliver against an opponent that have got the best of them. They need to get some depth scoring, something the Bruins have done very well this season and execute properly on the power play.
As the forwards focus on solving a dynamic goaltending duo in Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark, the defense needs to be smarter with how they play and limit the number of costly turnovers and poor puck decisions. The Bruins can hurt you on a counter attack and on the rush and this team’s defense can’t give them the time and space. The blue line appears set in stone and they need to be on top of everything and not get out of position.
Match Physicality and Intensity
You know the intensity and physical play is going to amp up in the postseason, even more so that the Maple Leafs are facing the Bruins. The rivalry is real and the temperature for this series is going to increase as it progresses.
The Bruins are the second-most physical team in the league with 2,260 hits. Right behind them is the Maple Leafs with 2,247. The Maple Leafs made the necessary moves to be playoff ready. Bringing in the likes of Max Domi, Tyler Bertuzzi, Ryan Reaves and Joel Edmundson at the deadline, are for moments like these against tough opponents during the most important time of the season.
Reaves has played well lately and his presence should carry over, while Bertuzzi and Domi have shown that they can excel at getting under the opposition’s skin. Jake McCabe and Simon Benoit have continued to bring the physical play this season on the blue line and have shown great chemistry together. They’ve shown that they can match the physical play during the regular season, now it’s time to actually show it when it matters most.
Final Thoughts
Whether it was the Bruins or Panthers, the Maple Leafs were going in as the underdog against a tough opponent. There’s a lot of tension and nerves now because it’s a team that has been a thorn in their side for some time. Yes, the history is there, but if this team can finally come together and play as a collective unit consistently like they have at points during the regular season, then things will look up.
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If not, then that’s where things get interesting as the talk of changes will come back in. This team’s mentality can get the best of them and it has shown.
They showed that they can win a round. Now, they have another chance to prove that they can power through and come out on top.
Statistics from Natural Stat Trick and NHL.
