The Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins meet for the second year in a row in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs beginning Thursday night at TD Garden. It is nearly impossible for anyone analyzing this series to look at the matchup without factoring in the Leafs two third-period collapses in Game 7 six years ago and last April, but Leafs head coach Mike Babcock believes that history will have little to do with the outcome of this series.
“Last year is last year. I think there’s no sense spending any time on (looking back).” Babcock said. “(Boston has) a different team, we have a different team. “Our guys are growing and they’re going to get older and they’re going to get better. Some of those losses in life, those little hardships are the best things for you, they allow you to grow and make you grow. We’ve all experienced what it’s like to lose and you don’t like the feeling.”
The series is one of only two in the first round where both clubs have 100 points or more, and one critical decision, mistake or shortcoming could be the difference between victory and defeat. Here is a look at the Boston and Toronto series, starting with the coaching and goaltending matchup.
Coaching
Mike Babcock is in his fourth season with Toronto and has made the postseason three years in a row, but this is the first playoffs where the Stanley Cup and Olympic gold medal winning head coach is facing expectations for his club.
Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy has made the postseason in all three years as Bruins head coach, but only succeeded in advancing past the first round last year by defeating Babcock.
In last year’s series, Toronto was weakened by the absence of Nazem Kadri, a subpar performance by Andersen and the Bruins taking advantage of their defense corps, but Babcock heavily relies on matchups and Cassidy caught him at a disadvantage often, especially at TD Garden when Boston had the last change.
The addition of Tavares to go along with Matthews gives the Leafs a two-line offensive attack and that might give the Bruins some matchup problems. Babcock needs to be less concerned about getting the right combo out and getting his best players out there more when it counts.
Even
Garret Sparks is putting in work with Justin Holl, Igor Ozhiganov and the #leafs development staff again this morning. pic.twitter.com/xcPqYtBXt9
Tuukka Rask had an up-and-down year and tailed off at the end of the regular season, but will get the start in the series. If the veteran falters, Cassidy does have a fallback position in backup Jaroslav Halak, who had a better statistical year than Rask and has NHL postseason experience.
Frederik Andersen has been remarkably consistent in his three years with Toronto, posting 30+ victories, 60+ starts and a nearly identical save percentage each season (.918, .918, .917). The 29-year-old was on the path towards a Vezina Trophy nomination until March, when he was unable to cover up for his team’s shorthanded defense.
A similar drop in performance occurred late last season after playing 66 games and facing the most shots in the NHL, and Andersen was not as sharp against the Bruins, especially in the third period of Game 7.
Andersen only played 60 games this season and has traditionally played well against the Bruins (11-2-0, 2.42 GAA and .927 save %), but that was not the case 12 months ago. For Toronto to have any chance at getting past the first round, they will need Andersen to return to mid-season form.
Slight Advantage – Toronto
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