Your Toronto Maple Leafs bandwagon guide for Round 2 versus Florida
Leafs fans have lots to be optimistic about, but Florida's 'rats' stand in the way of a Stanley Cup
Hop on the Toronto Maple Leafs bandwagon everyone, because we're into the second round starting on Monday night.
The Leafs got past the Ottawa Senators to capture the "Battle of Ontario" last week. Next up: The defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers — Game 1 is at Scotiabank Arena at 8 p.m. ET.
So, it's time to catch up the top storylines with CBC Toronto's Adam Carter, our resident Leafs diehard whose blood pressure we all worry about at this time of year.
The Leafs made it past Ottawa. Adam, how loud were the alarm bells in your head there?
It just wouldn't be the Leafs if they didn't make you panic a little bit. After cruising to three impressive wins against the Senators and dropping a close Game 4, all of those demons came roaring back for the fanbase after a classic Toronto playoff no-show in Game 5 (I, for one, could feel the hope starting to evaporate from my body).
But to the team's credit, they got things done in a very close Game 6. A decent section of the fanbase would have been apoplectic had Ottawa forced a series-deciding Game 7.
Take one minute to be optimistic. What looked good in that series?
There were plenty of positives. The defence corps looked very solid on the whole, scoring much more than it had in the regular season on top of providing markedly better defence than fans are used to seeing in the playoffs. The addition of Brandon Carlo at the trade deadline really helped everyone slot into their proper spots on the back end.
And though they didn't fully take over the series, Toronto's best players all contributed and got the job done. Those efforts were bolstered by key goals at crucial times from depth players — like Max Pacioretty's series-clinching wrister, or overtime winners from Max Domi and Simon Benoit.
The Leafs have been desperate for playoff goals in big moments like that for years.
Couple that with stable goaltending and a power play that actually scored at a solid clip in the postseason for a change, and fans should be feeling good (if you can divorce yourself from the preceding years of heartbreak and the behemoth to come, that is).
And now the Panthers, who defeated Tampa 4-1 in their opening series. They're good, right?
"Good" is underselling the Florida Panthers.
They finished ten points back of the Leafs this season, but they're the defending champs for a reason. That team is well-coached, knows its identity, and seems specifically built for playoff hockey.
Florida is the favourite here, season standings be damned. (Las Vegas betting odds also favour the Panthers, for what it's worth.)
Who are their dudes? (AKA: who should us bandwagoners boo the most?)
They have so, so many dudes. Aleksander Barkov is one of the best two-way centres in the league (if not the best), and goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky absolutely has the ability to steal a game (or series).
But the biggest problem the Leafs will face is undoubtedly the trio of Sam Bennett, Brad Marchand and Matthew Tkachuk. All three are able to play the "rat" role on a team to perfection, on top of having a reputation as big game players who can put the puck in the net when it counts.
Any one of those three guys could be a handful — so the prospect of possibly having to face all three of them at once is, uh, sub-optimal. After years terrorizing the Leafs with the Bruins, Marchand now gets to do so for a second divisional rival, further proving that the Leafs might actually be cursed.
Another Tkachuk?! Also why do people call them 'rats'?
Yup. The good news is if the Leafs make it to the next round there's no more Tkachuks lying in wait (unless Matthew and Brady's dad, Keith, comes out of retirement and laces up the skates again).
Rats are players who hit anything that moves and do everything in their power to get into the other team's heads — be it with a slash or scrum after the whistle, a questionable hit or, in Marchand's case, possibly licking someone's face.
That Marchand — who has earned himself the nickname "Rat" — ended up on a team that celebrates by throwing fake rats on the ice seems almost too serendipitous (I reiterate: the Leafs are cursed).
A lot of folks seem to be predicting violence in this next round. What's that about?
Some of that is just the style the Panthers play. It's a heavy team that forechecks hard and doesn't shy away from post-whistle extracurriculars.
Plus, it's safe to say these teams just don't like each other.
It will be interesting to see how the Leafs react to the increased physicality, as that's not an area in which Toronto has typically excelled.
This iteration of the team does seem to have players who are more comfortable playing that style, though, like former Panthers Steven Lorentz and Oliver Ekman-Larsson, as well as Pacioretty and Scott Laughton, who was great in the Ottawa series. Toronto's new-look defence should stand up to the Panthers' forecheck a little better, too.
The Panthers steamrolled the Leafs in the playoffs a couple years back, so now it's up to Toronto to prove they're not that team anymore.
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