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Leafs readying for first round opponent, whoever that might be

April 4, 2018, 5:02 PM ET [555 Comments]
Mike Augello
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The playoff picture remains uncertain for the Toronto Maple Leafs, who have two games left but do not know if they will be heading to Florida or Beantown after the Tampa Bay Lightning shutout the Boston Bruins 4-0 at Amalie Arena on Tuesday night.

The Lightning (who played without center Steven Stamkos) pulled even with the Bruins at 110 points with the shutout victory and have two games remaining against Buffalo and at Carolina to finish off the regular season. Boston holds a game in hand, but two games against the Florida Panthers and a home game against the Ottawa Senators.

Toronto plays the New Jersey Devils on Thursday, who are one win away from clinching a post-season berth after a 5-2 win over the NY Rangers on Tuesday.

With little on the line other than setting a franchise high for points and individual milestones, the Leafs are looking to stay engaged and be prepared for whoever they will face next week in the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

“We don’t really compare what the series would be like, we just have to prepare for whoever it may be.” defenseman Morgan Rielly said at the Leafs practice facility in Etobicoke, ON on Wednesday. “We have two games here to work on some things and get some things nailed down before we get ready for playoffs and we (don’t) have control over who that is going to be, we are just going to get ready.”

The club had everyone on the ice at the MasterCard Centre before departing for Newark, including defenseman Travis Dermott, who missed the 5-2 victory over Buffalo on Monday after blocking a shot in the loss to Winnipeg on Saturday.

The rookie blueliner did not participate in practice drills with teammates, but Leafs head coach Mike Babcock indicated that Dermott may be ready to play in the season finale against the Canadiens on Saturday.

"I think (Dermott’s) fine. He's going to skate with our guys again in Jersey tomorrow (morning) and then I think he will probably play in that last game against Montreal." Babcock said.

Leo Komarov and Kasperi Kapanen both returned to their normal spot on the fourth line with Tomas Plekanec, which is an indicator that the Finnish tandem will return to the lineup on Thursday, but it is possible that healthy scratches like Josh Leivo, Dominic Moore and Matt Martin could get another game before the end of the campaign.

Frederik Andersen is slated to get the last two starts, since the club will have four days off in between the Saturday finale and Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Quarter-Final, which is expected to start next Thursday, April 12.

“We got to be the most rested team in hockey, we’re going to have four of eight days off and freshen up that way and then we’ll still have time to practice and prepare.” Babcock said.

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